Rose's Story
by micbb
Summary: Eventual reunion fic. Will depict existing story lines from Rose's point of view (mostly). Rose could never have known that the best thing that had ever happened to her would be the thing that would cause her unimaginable pain, and would be what would make her stronger than ever as she forced her way through the dimension keeping her apart from her Doctor.
1. Chapter 1: 9th Doctor

**Hey guys! This is not my first story on fanfic, but it is on this account (I shudder at the thought of my childhood tastes). This story came to me last night – I'd really love to hear what you think. Send me comments, suggestions, likes, dislikes. No hate please, but advice and suggestions for sure. I will update as quickly as I can, but school keeps me pretty busy. **

**This story will include several direct quotes from Doctor Who, but I own nothing. **

She was absolutely insane. It was the only explanation for what she'd just done – run off with a strange man in a strange box that was strangely bigger on the inside. Now Rose was sitting in some sort of observation deck, watching the sun inch closer and closer to the earth.

Her home, she mused, pursing her lips together. Her home was about to be consumed by the sun that had provided warmth and comfort during her lifetime. This brought her to a new train of thought – what was her lifetime? She was 5 billion years in the future…was this still her lifetime? The Doctor, the man she'd known for both a single day and 5 billion years, had brought her here and she'd jumped on his spaceship or phone box or whatever he wanted to call it and followed him to the end of her own planet. Who was he, even? He was at least twice her age, by the look of him, he was an alien…and what was she? Human. Boring old human. Why had he even brought her? What made her special?

Now she was on a space station with people who were having a party just to watch her home burn. She sighed.

* * *

She'd almost been burned alive. The thought made her hair stand on end. She'd almost been burned alive 5 billion years into her future. Not even on earth – on a satellite. She could barely make sense of it – she'd talked to her mum on her mobile, told her she was on top of the world, and then almost been burned alive.

And she'd seen _the last human_, Cassandra, flattened out paper-thin. She'd watched Cassandra be torn apart, and seen the disgust on the Doctor's face when he looked at her after learning what she'd done.

And now she sat face to face with The Doctor, sitting in an old chippy not far from the estate, eating the vinegar-covered chips from the newspaper basket that sat on the table between her and The Doctor. She thought of the look on his face as he talked about his people and his planet. The only Time Lord in the whole world. She thought of his face when she'd simply said, "there's me," and the smile and chuckle when she'd declared she wanted chips. She looked at his face now, at the slightly puzzled expression written across his features and he looked back at her. He winced as he took a bite of a chip – she did tend to douse her chips in vinegar – but polished it off all the same.

"Why me, then?" she asked suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere. His eyes met hers, his expression serious and direct.

"What?" it didn't even sound like a question when he said it. Her face burned and she almost felt it turn bright red at his stare. His eyebrows were pulled out in a not-quite frown, and even with some of his more…noticeable features, like his ears that stuck out and his roman nose, he looked intimidating.

"Why me?" Rose asked again, refusing to look away. She dusted her hands off on a napkin and folded her arms on the table. "You could'a taken anyone with you. Why me?"

He didn't look away and it took him a few seconds to speak. The pregnant pause cause Rose to tense up as she waited for his answer. "I like you, Rose Tyler," he said simply, as though that fully explained everything.

In all honesty, she already trusted him at this point. There was no going back. When they made their way back to the TARDIS (would she ever get used to it?), she clasped his hand in hers. He squeezed it once and held it at his side until they were in his time machine.

* * *

Mauve is a ridiculous colour for danger, she thought. She almost wished she were wearing a mauve shirt, rather than the union jack that was plastered on her chest. Her hands were burning, but she gripped the rope as tightly as she could because letting go was certainly not an option.

She was hanging from a _barrage balloon_ in the middle of an _air raid_. Her heart raced faster than she'd ever felt it and she struggled to get any sort of grip with her shoes, desperate for any other support. She wasn't sure how much longer she could hang onto the rope.

How long had she been hanging? Minutes? Hours? It felt like forever, and it was certainly much too long, considering everything. Where was The Doctor? Her breathing quickened as she clung desperately.

She certainly didn't notice when she caught the attention of a Captain, who watched her attentively from a window.

She did notice when she was enveloped in a sort of force field and heard a voice that sounded as though it were coming through a speaker.

And then she was moving – with very little warning, she might have added – sliding down the light or force field or whatever it was. She spoke briefly to the attractive man whose voice she'd heard before everything went black.

* * *

His name was Captain Jack Harkness. And he had psychic paper. He certainly didn't belong in the middle of World War Two. He'd called her a time agent…what was a time agent? She tried not to let her confusion show and simply nodded.

Was she honestly drinking champagne on top of an invisible space ship, tethered to Big Ben, in the middle of an air raid? Would she ever consider this kind of thing to be normal? She doubted it. She was certainly in attractive company – dancing with Captain Jack.

What was a Chula warship?

* * *

Thank God she'd found The Doctor, and that he'd played along with her "time agent" charade. Unfortunately, Jack was a conman, and human DNA was being rewritten.

One hell of a situation.

* * *

Everybody lived. _Everybody lived!_ She wouldn't soon forget the look on The Doctor's face as he shouted triumphantly. It was quite possibly the largest smile she'd ever seen on anyone's face. Even before, the hope she'd seen in him was breathtaking. He wanted so badly for everyone to live…it was hard to keep her eyes off of him, and his joy was infectious. The cockiness in his voice when he'd said, "you want the moves, Rose? I'll show you the moves," had widened her smile even further.

She barely noticed when Jack joined them on the TARDIS. Her attention was locked on The Doctor as they awkwardly moved around the console room. Of course, when Rose had invited Jack to dance, The Doctor had suddenly remembered _his moves_ and the two of them pranced around the console, eyes locked on each other and wide smiles on their faces. She was certain that _In the Mood _had just become her new favourite song.

* * *

She was on a Dalek ship. They were supposed to go extinct! Did The Doctor know where she was? Did she think she was dead, killed by the disintegration beam?

She stood as far as she could from the Dalek that advanced towards her quickly, backing away so that she collided with the wall. They continued to move through the arches, increasing in numbers. She watched numbly as they opened a communication with the satellite. She stared at him, eyes wide, as he refused to communicate with her captors.

Relief flooded through he when proclaimed that he would rescue her, and she would not lose hope in her Doctor, even when all she could hear was loud, robotic cries of EXTER-MINATE from every Dalek. There were too many of them, she thought. They were supposed to be dead, long gone. And yet here they were, demanding that she predict what The Doctor would do.

When the TARDIS materialized around her, her eyes immediately found The Doctor. When he wrapped his arms around her, and she him, she never wanted to let go. She kept quiet as Jack and The Doctor bantered around field, and her eyes stayed locked on The Doctor when he talked to the Daleks and the Dalek emperor, which was easily the largest suit of army she'd ever seen for such a small creature. She tried to keep her face still and remain impassive, but she was struggling. Her eyes were wide with fear. But when the emperor started to talk about the human race, she felt her face twitch in disgust.

The Daleks were insane, driven to that point by their own flesh and existence.

When they'd retreated back into the safety of the TARDIS, Rose's heart went out to her Doctor. He leaned his forehead against the doors and remained there, unmoving, for too long. She couldn't begin to imagine what he was thinking as the cries of the Daleks echoed through the console room.

* * *

She hit the doors of the TARDIS roughly, pounding the door as hard as she could, trying to get them to open. Anger and betrayal burned in her core as the TARDIS took off, dematerializing from the Game Station. She yelled his name, crying for him to open the door. She continued to try to free herself until the Doctor's voice came from behind her.

"This is emergency program one." Rose whirled around at the sound of his voice and found a transparent image of her Doctor talking directly to her. "Rose, now listen. This is important. If this message is activated, then it can only mean one thing. We must be in danger, and I mean fatal. I'm dead, or about to die, any second, with no chance of escape."

"No." the word tumbled from her mouth and she quickly moved closer to the hologram, inspecting it from every angle.

"…And that's okay, hope it's a good death," The Doctor continued, his eyes still facing the door. "But I promised to look after you, and that's what I'm doing. The TARDIS is taking you home."

Rose's mouth fell open in shock, horrified at this statement. "I won't let you," she said, quickly, even though she knew he couldn't hear her.

"And I bet you're fussing and moaning now. Typical." He was still sternly facing the door. "But hold on, and just listen a bit more." He wasn't looking at Rose. She was beside him now, near the edges of the console. Her eyes were locked on his image and she began to shake. "The TARDIS can never return to me. Emergency program one means I'm facing an enemy that should never get their hands on this machine. So this is what you should do: let the TARDIS die." Rose had manage to school her features, but this statement sent a wave of shock through her. "Just let this old box gather dust. No one can open it, no one will even notice it. Let it become a strange little thing standing on a street corner, and over the years the world will move on, and the box will be buried. And if you want to remember me, you can do one thing. That's all. One thing." Until this point The Doctor had continued to stare directly at the doors, but at this statement, he turned his head to her, his holographic eyes boring into hers and the ghost of a smile on his lips. "Have a good life. Do that for me, Rose. Have a fantastic life."

And with that he was gone.

"You can't do this to me." Rose breathed. "You can't!" she moved to the console room and started moving every switch and pressing every button she could see in an attempt to steer the TARDIS herself. "Take me back!" She cried desperately, "_Take me back!"_

Her attempts were in vain, and soon she found herself sitting in a small diner with her mum and Mickey. Her mind was far away. She tried to explain to them that she needed to get back to The Doctor. She couldn't get through to them. She cried out her explanations in a desperate flurry of words. They hadn't seen what she'd seen. They couldn't know.

* * *

Sitting in a cement park, the words chalked into the pavement finally jumped out at her. Suddenly they were everywhere.

BAD WOLF

* * *

They had probably ruined the tires on Mickey's car, trying to open the console to access the heart of the TARDIS. It took a recovery truck and much too long to finally open the console.

When it finally opened, light flooded through the TARDIS and filled the room. Rose's eyes were locked on the source of that light – the heart of the TARDIS. She didn't notice when the doors slammed shut, locking out her mother and Mickey. She didn't notice when the TARDIS took off without further direction. Once the heart of the TARDIS was opened, Rose Tyler was no longer Rose Tyler. Light travelled in two steady streams, directly into her eyes, filling her mind with the time vortex.

She didn't see her Doctor's eyes snap open at the sound of the TARDIS's motor, nor did she see the terror on his face when the TARDIS materialized, and she didn't see The Doctor stumble backwards and fall back so that he was sitting on the ground. When the doors opened on their own, and Rose Tyler stood in the doorway, she did not see that the console room was now entirely filled with bright yellow light. Strands of light exited the TARDIS and Rose seemed to disappear from the doorway and suddenly be right in front of the Doctor. Hey eyes shone bright yellow and the light seemed to follow her as she moved.

"What have you done?" The Doctor's cry did not go unheard. Rose's eyes locked on him.

"I looked into the TARDIS." Her voice was soft, as were her features as she gazed at him, "and the TARDIS looked into me."

"You looked into the time vortex, Rose, no one's meant to see that." He explained desperately. Her face remained the same, her eyes remained on him.

"This is the _abomination," _the emperor's voice resonated through the 500th floor of the satellite. A Dalek fired at Rose.

Her eyes snapped up immediately and her hand shot out. The beam seemed to bounce off Rose's hand and return to the Dalek. The Doctor's confusion was evident on his face as he followed the shot.

"I am the Bad Wolf." Rose's voice was still unbearably soft, and she looked back at The Doctor, who had returned his gaze to her. His eyebrows were knit together as he stared at her, his eyes wide with incomprehension. "I create myself," she continued seamlessly, "I take the words. I scatter them in time and space." The letters high above them that read _Bad Wolf Corporation_ were suddenly freed from the wall and were sent away by Rose's hand. "A message to lead myself here."

"Rose," The Doctor begged, "you've got to stop. You've got to stop this _now_." Rose was no longer looking at him. She faced straight ahead, seemingly not hearing his pleas, and the yellow light in her eyes continued to dance. "You've got the entire vortex running through your head. _You're gunna burn_." He implored of her to understand, to stop, to save herself.

At this, Rose looked down at him and the glow disappeared from her eyes. She met his gaze. "I want you safe." This statement caused The Doctor's expression to change from fear to surprise as he continued to watch her face. "My Doctor." There was absolute truth in this. He was _hers_ he continued to watch her with wide blue eyes, desperation clearly written on his face. "Protected from the false god."

"You cannot hurt me," the emperor interrupted. "I am immortal."

Rose raised her hazel eyes to him. "You are tiny." There had been a double intonation in her voice from the moment she had stepped out of the TARDIS, but now it became even more pronounced as she spoke with more force. "I see the whole of time and space, every single atom of your existence, and I divide them." At this, Rose's eyes once again shined with yellow light and her hand shot up. With this, each Dalek began to dissolve, from end to center, scattered into atoms. "Everything must come to dust. All things." Tears left traces down Rose's cheeks, but she continued. "Everything dies." Both arms raised and The Doctor followed Rose's gaze to each Dalek as they began to disappear into yellow light. "The Time War ends."

The emperor resisted, crying out, as Rose turned her gaze on him. He too, was gone, as was every Dalek.

"Rose, you've done it. Now stop." The Doctor said sternly as he watched his Rose, her arms extended, breathing heavily. "Just let go."

Rose's voice was soft when she answered, "How can I let go of this?" With the time vortex swirling in her eyes, she continued, "I bring life."

"This is wrong!" The Doctor was desperate once again. "You can't control life and death!"

"But I can," Rose interrupted, the glow leaving her eyes as she turned her gaze on her Doctor. He looked up at her in fear. "The sun and the moon, the day and night. But why do they hurt?" Her voice was getting weaker.

"The power's gunna kill you and it's my fault." The Doctor replied, averting his gaze.

"I can see everything," Rose continued, her eyes still on The Doctor. This brought The Doctor's eyes back to her face in shock. "All that is. All that was. All that ever could be."

The Doctor stood so that he was looking down at his Rose. "That's what I see. All the time. Doesn't it drive you mad?" His eyes searched hers for an answer.

Her eyes were filled with tears as the time vortex continued to dance within her. "My head," her voice was so weak.

"Come here," The Doctor took her hands in his.

"…Is killing me." Rose finished. Her face was twisted in fear and pain.

"I think you need a doctor," The Doctor pulled her to him, locking his eyes with hers as he lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers, pulling the time vortex out of her.

Rose was lying on the floor of the TARDIS when she woke up. The Doctor was leaning casually over the console. He made a ridiculous joke about singing the Daleks away. She listened as he rambled about Barcelona and made no sense as he talked about a process that he did not explain. Fear shot through her when he seemed to explode with golden light. He told her that his body was changing, that he would change.

"Before I go, I just want to tell you that you were fantastic." He told her. She stared him down. "Absolutely fantastic. And you know what?" She shook her head ever so slightly, not unlocking their eyes for a second. "So was I." He finished.

And then he exploded with golden light.

**Review!**


	2. Chapter 2: 10th Doctor

**Here's chapter 2, dears! This is ten pages long. This is season 2, so from here on in the story will mostly be original content, with the exception of Rose's reappearance later on. This chapter includes many direct quotes from Doctor who, but I own nothing. **

The man lying in the bed in front of her was not The Doctor, not to Rose. He was much too skinny, too young. He was dwarfed by her Doctor's leather jacket, which had suited him so well. And his hair…

She listened to the heart on left side of his chest first, and then, with only the slightest of hesitations, the one on his right. Both working. Satisfied, she left him alone in the room.

* * *

Harriet Jones, Prime Minister?

"Now that's where you're wrong. I completely disagree, if you don't mind." Harriet's response to a journalist questioning the usefulness of the Guinevere One space program was very…Harriet Jones. There was no other way to put it. Rose's lips stretched into a wide grin as she watched the one-time journalist speaking at a press conference. Harriet was brilliant, she knew.

* * *

"Doctor, wake up!" Rose pleaded desperately as her mum and Mickey tried to barricade the door to the bedroom. The tree was playing obnoxiously loud Christmas music as it spun outrageously quickly and advanced on them. Rose moved to where her Doctor's leather jacket was hanging and she reached into his pockets, during furiously for his screwdriver. Would he leave her now? The proper Doctor would never leave her in danger of anything while he slept, let alone a _Christmas tree._

Once it was found, she put it in The Doctor's palm and wrapped his fingers around it. She was thrown back when the Christmas tree burst through the door, leaving branch marks in the wall.

"I'm gunna get killed by a Christmas tree!" Jackie squeaked, pressing herself against the back wall and looking away from the ridiculous, yet terrifying, scene unfolding in front of her.

Rose moved back to The much too skinny Doctor and leaned in close to his ear. "Help me," she murmured desperately.

* * *

"I, um…I address the Sycorax," She started, her voice wavering as she tried to sound sure of herself. She was on the Sycorax space ship, The Doctor asleep in the TARDIS, trying to save her planet. "According to article fifteen of the Shadow Proclamation." She stumbled over the unfamiliar words. The Sycorax were silent, and though she could not see their faces, she knew all eyes were on her. "I command you to leave this world, with all the authority of…" She thought desperately of any name that might help her, her face strained with fear, "…the Slitheen parliament of Raxacoricofalapatorious…and…um…the Gelth Confederacy…" the leader advanced, causing her to shake and the wavering of her voice to increase still. "…As...uh…sanctioned by the mighty Jagrafess…and...OH! The Daleks! Now leave this planet in peace!" She was shouting now.

* * *

"Now, _you_ just wait. I'm _busy_." The Doctor said sternly, addressing the Sycorax leader. He turned and walked back over to Rose and Mickey. "Mickey! Hello!" He said cheerfully.

"First things first," he looked seriously at Rose. "Be honest. How do I look?" his large brown eyes bored into hers and his face was deathly serious.

"Um…" Rose examined his unfamiliar face. "Different."

"Good different, or bad different?" He asked, still much too serious. Was he vain? She couldn't remember him ever being vain. His expression hadn't changed, and he hadn't even blinked.

"Just…different." She replied quickly. Was he really doing this now? Was he really asking her how he looked while hundreds of Sycorax watched them?

"Am I," He started. If possible, his face grew even more serious when he paused, "ginger?"

Rude and not ginger.

* * *

She'd never had doubts about The Doctor. Well, maybe that was a lie, but since he'd changed his face he'd proved to her time and time again that he was still _her Doctor_. He held her hand and smiled that huge, almost manic grin and convinced her that he hadn't changed, except for his looks. And his really, _really_ great hair.

And he'd caught to her with _Sarah Jane_ at his side, and introduced her to _Sarah Jane_ and _Sarah Jane _had called her The Doctor's _assistant_. Maybe _Sarah Jane _had been The Doctor's _assistant_ but Rose was not. Then he'd sat with _Sarah Jane _at that stupid diner with that stupid _tin dog_.

_Sarah Jane _couldn't even work the sonic.

But they'd both experienced such amazing things…and it was Rose who broke the silence. "…with you, did he do that thing where he'd explain something at like, ninety miles an hour, and you'd go 'what?' and he'd look at you like you'd just dribbled on your shirt?"

That was all it took. The two of them were giggling like a pair of children when The Doctor arrived.

* * *

She stood, staring at what had been a time window into 18th century France. He'd taken that damn horse and gone to save Madame the Pompadour. He'd left his traveling companion, behind when he _knew _there was no way of him getting back to her, and no way of her getting home without him. He'd just…gone.

She couldn't move or look away from the wall. She stood in horrified silence, barely noticing when Mickey asked her what had happened to the time window.

He'd left her.

It was five and a half hours before she saw him again.

* * *

Did graphite seriously just attack her? A pencil scribble had just attacked her.

* * *

The Isolus had taken The Doctor, and now she was taking not only the entire Olympic stadium, but the whole world. Eighty thousand wasn't enough – she needed four billion brothers and sisters. Rose broke the door with the stolen axe and tried to get Chloe to stop.

"It needs more than heat, Doctor," Rose murmured quietly, looking desperately at the drawing of her Doctor.

The flame.

* * *

The pod started to sing as she got closer to the Olympic flame. Rose, unable to get close to the runner, threw the pod high in the air and cheered wildly when the pod took off. Had she done it? The pod certainly seemed to be working. Had she saved the planet from the lonely alien?

With the Isolus gone, one by one the stolen children reappeared where they'd been taken. But not The Doctor. Where was he? She searched desperately.

* * *

He had the flame! The Doctor was carrying the flame to the stadium! How had he gotten there? Rose watched with Chloe, her mother, and the road worker.

* * *

"Cake?" Rose asked, making The Doctor whirl. He saw her and smiled widely, starting with a chuckle and ending with full throw-back-his-head laughter.

"Top banana!" he said cheerfully, taking the cake from Rose. She smiled back at him, her body flooded with relief as soon as she'd seen him. After his silly comment about edible ball bearings, Rose wrapped him in the tightest hug she possibly could. She thought she'd lost him. She couldn't keep her eyes off his face, nor the smile off her lips.

"This is a night for lost things being found," he told her at a smile. He grabbed her hand.

* * *

"Mum, it's us!" Rose called as she entered her mother's flat. The Doctor tried to slip by Jackie, but she tackled him with a hug and kissed his face. Rose gave Jackie her knapsack and showed her the bazulim. When Jackie jumped immediately in with news, her eyes alight with excitement. Rose's blood ran cold when Jackie exclaimed that her father – Rose's grandpa – was coming to visit.

"She's gone mad," She said, eyes wide, as she watched her mum retreat into the kitchen.

"Tell me something new," The Doctor said pleasantly, joining Rose's side.

"Granddad Prentice – that's her dad." Rose explained, glancing quickly at The Doctor before looking back to where her mum has gone. The Doctor's eyes examined Rose's face. "But he's been dead for like…ten years." Rose finished. The Doctor's eyes widened and he quickly looked up in the same direction as Rose. "Oh my God. She's gone mad." Rose muttered. Following her mum into the kitchen.

Ghosts. Ghosts in London. Ghosts all over the world.

* * *

When The Doctor took Jackie out of the TARDIS, pretending she was Rose, to follow the Torchwood lot, Rose stayed inside the TARDIS. She watched them leave and waited for her chance. She grabbed the psychic paper from The Doctor's trench coat pocket and exited the TARDIS, as slowly and quietly as she could. Her heart raced as she avoided being seen, and quickly grabbed a lab coat lying on a table and confidently strutted through doors, doing her best to act like she belonged. She jogged to keep up with the man in front of her, and ended up in a barricaded room with a huge gold sphere in it. The man spotted her and began to question her. She tried to use the psychic paper, but he saw through it.

The man asked 'Samuel' to check the door locks. He turned.

Mickey.

He gave her two thumbs up as he moved to the door.

* * *

The sphere was shaking, affecting the whole deadlocked room. Rose watched in horror as the leader called desperately for help and Mickey shed his lab coat. Slowly, the sphere started to open before Rose's eyes. She tried to keep her breathing steady. Mickey grabbed his ridiculously oversized gun and pointed it at the sphere.

"Oh my God," Rose gasped. She felt as though a current of ice had just passed through her bloodstream. Four Daleks floated out of the Sphere.

"LO-CA-TION EAR-TH." Declared one, "LIFE FORMS DE-TECT-ED. EXTER-MINATE," It continued. The other joined it its fear-wrenching cry.

When they didn't quiet, Rose took it on herself to make them stop. "DALEKS." She yelled loudly, "You're called Daleks." When she got no response, she deliberately advanced on the closest Dalek. "I know your name," she told it. She threw off her lab coat. She hoped she could stall the Daleks, maybe stop them from killing her, Mickey and the scientist, or at least give The Doctor time to find them. "Think about it, how can I know that? A human who knows about the Daleks. And the Time War." She paused and earned no response. "If you wanna know how, keep us alive. That's all I'm asking. Me and my friends."

What was a genesis arc? What did the Dalek mean, 'it was hibernating'?

* * *

"WHICH OF YOU IS LEAST IMPOR-TANT?" The black Dalek demanded, advancing on the three.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rose blurted out. The Dalek repeated the question with more force. "No, we don't work like that," Rose said, disgust evident on her face. "None of us." She would not give the Daleks anything or anyone. They were going to live through this, she through stubbornly.

"DESIG-NATE THE LEAST IMPOR-TANT."

Rose was forced to watch the scientist have the information about earth history have his brain waved extracted. She hid her face in Mickey's chest as the man was killed.

* * *

The Daleks opened communication through a single Dalek travelling to the upper floors. Rose watched with wide, frightened eyes, following the Dalek's movements. Before now, Rose didn't think she could be any more afraid. Nothing was worse than Dalek.

Until it came face to face (figuratively) with the only thing that could scare her as much as the Daleks.

"I-DENT-IFY YOUR-SELF." The Dalek cried.

"You will identify first." The Cyberman responded. They continued to argue. A joke on Mickey's part pulled Rose's lips into a slight smile, but she continued to watch the screen in front of them soberly, trying not to let too much of her fear show.

"DA-LEKS DO NOT TAKE OR-DERS." The Dalek finally shouted (which she was pretty sure was the same as a Dalek talking quietly). The Daleks identified the Cyberman on their own, without the Cybermen stating their names.

Ringing in her pocket made Rose jump. She looked down quickly and saw "mum" on the caller ID. She answered, keeping the phone at her side. She could hear the slightest mumbling coming from the phone, but couldn't identify the words. Was it The Doctor? Was he alright? Was her mum alright? If The Doctor was alive, did he know what a genesis arc was?

"DA-LEKS HAVE NO CON-CEPT OF ELE-GANCE." The Dalek was still arguing with the Cyberman.

"This is obvious." Was that a burn? Did a Cyberman seriously just burn the Daleks? It continued to propose an alliance. Rose's heart seemed to stop in her chest. They couldn't.

"RE-QUEST DE-NIED." The Dalek responded. The Cybermen tried to shoot the Dalek and failed – the Dalek's armor was impenetrable, even to the Cybermen. The Dalek shot both in turn, and they fell.

The Cybermen opened a communication with the lower level, where three Daleks and two humans remained. "Daleks be warned. You have declared war on the Cybermen." The leader said. Rose and Mickey continued to watch quietly, unable to do anything or say anything.

"THIS IS NOT WAR. THIS IS PEST CON-TROL."

"We have five million Cybermen," the number given by the Cyberman was astonishing. What more fear was left? Rose thought helplessly. "How many are you?"

"FOUR."

Rose was shaking. "You would destroy the Cybermen with four Daleks?" If a robot could be incredulous, this Cyberman certainly was.

"WE WOULD DES-TROY THE CYBER-MEN WITH ONE DA-LEK. YOU ARE SUP-ERIOR IN ONLY ONE ASPECT."

"What is that?"

"YOU ARE BET-TER AT DY-ING."

* * *

The Daleks whirled on Rose when the Doctor was spotted, demanding his identification. At her identifying him as The Doctor, the Daleks backed up. When they forced her to place her hand on the genesis arc, she advanced, hoping to protect Mickey from the Dalek threat. She paused. "If you…ehm… escaped the Time War, don't you wanna know what happened?" The Dalek tried to interrupt, but Rose continued, "What happened to the Emperor?"

"THE EMP-EROR SUR-VIVED?" Now even the Dalek sounded incredulous. Rose was glad to have found a distraction, even if she could only stall the Daleks for a few minutes.

"Till he met me." Rose told him boldly. "Cause if these are gunna be my last words, then you're gunna listen." Only silence from the Dalek. "I met the emperor. And I took the Time Vortex and pulled into his head and turned him into dust. D'you get that? The god of all Daleks," she smirked. If there was nothing she could do about dying now, she may as well be cocky. "And I destroyed him." She finished with a laugh.

"YOU WILL BE EXTER-MINATED." The Dalek seemed to should furiously. Rose could not have been gladder to see The Doctor stroll in, wearing…3D glasses? Even so, a large smile grew on Rose's face.

* * *

What the hell did he want giant weights for?

Rose, Pete and The Doctor watched, all equally as confused as the next, the Daleks elevate the genesis arc out of Torchwood Tower, accompanied by the black Dalek. When the arc opened, the worst thing that could possibly have happened _happened_.

"Time Lord science," The Doctor said. Rose turned her head to look at him, and was almost taken aback by the horror on his face. "It's bigger on the inside." When The Doctor explained that the prison ship held millions of Daleks, Rose's mouth popped open in horror. His face thinly masked his heart-wrenching grief and anger as the Daleks exited the genesis arc at an impossible pace.

Millions of Cybermen and millions of Daleks.

* * *

The clamps were pressed against the wall and ready. Rose and the Doctor pulled the levers, opening the void, and ran back to their clamps, hanging on for dear life. Rose struggled to catch her breath, watching as Dalek after Cyberman after Dalek was sucked into the void.

"THE BRIDGE IS OPEN! INTO THE VOID! HA!" The Doctor shouted above the noise of wind and shouting Daleks and Cybermen. Smiles grew on The Doctor and Rose's faces. They were doing it – stopping the Daleks and the Cybermen from destroying earth.

But that's where things started going wrong.

Rose's handle unlocked, turned offline and stopped the flow of Cybermen and Daleks. Determined, Rose ignored The Doctor's yell, telling her to hold on, and reached for the lever. She'd completely let go of her clamp and managed to lock the lever back into place. She desperately held on to the lever but felt her grip weakening by the second. She glanced over to The Doctor's terrified face. He tried to reach out to her.

Her fingers gave. All she could hear was The Doctor shouting her name, screaming as she was sucked toward the void. She screamed – this wasn't how it was supposed to end. She'd promised The Doctor forever. This couldn't be it.

She felt arms wrap around her had only a second to glance at her Doctor's horrified face before Pete activated the dimension cannon and she was gone.

The Doctor was terrified and horrified and sad beyond relief. Had they made it to Pete's world? Was she safe? She was no longer with him, now in an unreachable dimension, and he was so very alone. He felt it to his core, the aloneness that seemed to freeze and set flame to his senses all at once.

In the other dimension, Rose pounded furiously at the wall that seemed to separate her from her Doctor. "Take me back!" tears were flowing and she felt her face contort in pain and fear. "Take me back!" Sobs were flowing freely now. She barely noticed when Pete pointed out that the bridge was closed, sobbing against the wall. For a moment, she tought she could feel the Doctor on the other side. Was he alright? Was he safe? He was no longer with him, in an unreachable dimension. Too soon, she felt his presence disappear.

She turned to see Pete, Jackie and Mickey looking at her with sober expressions.

* * *

_Rose_

_Rose_

She was dreaming of his voice, calling her. Was she imagining things? Had she finally gone insane from the lack of his presence? She told her mother, Pete and Mickey, and they listened without judgment and believed her. They packed up that night and followed the voice in Pete's jeep, following the instructions she'd heard. They drove for what seemed like forever.

When she arrived on the Beach in Norway, she looked desperately for any sign of him, pacing the beach while Pete, Jackie and Mickey stayed by the jeep.

And suddenly there he was.

A hollow, transparent image of her Doctor.

"Where are you?" Had he crossed dimensions? He couldn't have. They were closed, and even if he had he wouldn't be a stupid hologram on a stupid beach in _Norway_.

"In the TARDIS," he replied, and Rose's heart swelled as she thought of the beloved ship. "There's one tiny little gap in the universe left," The Doctor continued, "just about to close. It takes a lot of power to send this projection. I'm in orbit around a supernova. Burning up a sun, just to say goodbye." The sad smile on his face was killing her. She started to feel tears burn behind her eyes.

"You look like a ghost," she told him sadly, fearful of getting any closer to him, fearful he would disappear any second. He did something and appeared as though he were really there, on the beach with her. She advanced and tentatively reached out. "Can I…" she didn't need to finish the sentence.

He shook his head, "I'm still just an image. No touch."

"Can't you come through properly?" She asked in a small, wavering voice. She already knew the answer. At his answer that two universes would collapse, she responded with "So?" bringing the sad smile back to his face and the tears back to her eyes.

"Where are we? Where did the gap come out?" He asked suddenly, his eyes darting around the beach.

"We're in Norway."

"Norway, right."

"About fifty miles out of Bergen," she continued, fighting the tears that she knew would fall any second. "It's called Darlig Ulv Stranden."

"Dalek?"

"Dar_lig,"_ she repeated. "It's Norwegian for Bad." The Doctor stared, confused. "This translates as Bad Wolf Bay," she said, rolling her eyes as she felt the ghost of a smile on her lips. She looked at the smiled on her Doctor's face. The last time she'd see him. Her smile was gone much quicker than it had appeared, and her face became twisted in agony. "How long have you got?"

The smile disappeared off of his face. "About to minutes," he told her gently.

She fought tears and grinned sadly. "I can't think of what to say." What could she say? How was she supposed to say goodbye to her Doctor, the man who'd taken her to the end of the world and back? A small chuckle escaped him and he looked at her with a sad smile.

"You've still got Mr. Mickey, then." He said, trying desperately not to sound bitter.

"There's five of us now," her voice sounded hoarse, but she couldn't bring herself to care. "Mum, Dad, Mickey, and the baby."

Awe mixed with sadness on his face, "You're not…"

She paused for a second. Finally she let out a small laugh and smile. "No. It's mum. She'd three months gone. More Tylers on the way." The doctor's eyes lifted to Jackie briefly, but he wouldn't spend his last second with his Rose looking at her mother.

"What about you? Are you…?" what was she doing? Was she alright? He desperately needed for her to be alright, but he knew that either way, if she missed him too much to do anything, it would crush him, but if she was entirely ready to forget him, it would break his heart. There were no right answers anymore.

"Yeah, I'm back working in the shop." She told him, with a slight tinge of bitterness to her tone. She gauged his reaction.

"Good for you," he gave her a small smile.

"Shut up." She told him. "No I'm not. There's still a Torchwood on this planet. It's Open for business. I think I know a thing or two about aliens." She tried to sound sure of herself.

"Rose Tyler," he said her name in the way he did, smiling. "Defender of the Earth." He looked into her eyes, so near to tears, and fought the urge to tear up himself. He changed the subject. "You're dead, officially, back home. So many people died that day and you've gone missing. You're on the list of the dead." His statement cause sobs to break free from her and she covered her mouth, trying to stop them. "And here you are, living life, day after day. One adventure I can never have."

Tears flowed freely now and she gasped for breath. She felt as though her chest were being crushed by the weight of the universe. "Am I ever gunna see you again?" She asked through tears an sobs. She had troubled finishing the question and covered her eyes for a brief moment.

"You can't," more weight on her chest. She wondered if this were easy for him. He'd lost companions before…was she just another one gone? But she knew him, her Doctor, and she could see the agony on his face even as he tried to hide it.

"What are you gunna do?" she asked him, shaking her head. Would he forget her, find someone else and begin again? Would he be alright with her gone?

His eyes were starting to redden and she could tell he was fighting off tears. "Oh, I've got the TARDIS." He told her. "Same old life, last of the Time Lords." His smile was bitter and his eyes were red.

"On your own?" Rose asked, in a broken voice that certainly didn't sound like her. The question was barely intelligible. He nodded, unable to speak. It was hard for her to speak as well, through the tears and the sobs and gasps for breath. "I – " she needed to say it, needed him to know. "I love you." She said with as much conviction as she could while her breath caught in her throat.

He looked at her with the tiniest of smiles on his face. "Quite right, too." He said quietly. She nodded. "And I suppose…if it's my last chance to say it…Rose Tyler…" and he was gone.

She allowed herself to break down entirely, sobbing on the beach, her Doctor gone. She couldn't have known that in a different universe, a man in a police box that was orbiting the sun was caught in stunned silence, tears flowing freely. His unfinished sentence hung from his still open lips before he tried to gather himself, closing his eyes and mouth in mourning of what he had lost on a beach, in Norway, in another world. He stood unmoving for too long.

Rose turned to face her family, still standing on the beach. Jackie met her daughter's tear stricken eyes, the agony in her face, and the weakness in her body and ran to her. She wrapped Rose in her arms, knowing that there was nothing she could say to her daughter to make it any easier.

**Review :)**


	3. Chapter 3: Pete's World

**Here's chapter 3, dears! It's shorter than the others, and ****for that I apologize. **

Empty.

Her heart felt empty.

Actually, her heart felt as though it had been ripped from her chest, broken through her ribcage, and been shattered into a million pieces. But she didn't want to split hairs.

They'd left Norway after The Doctor had disappeared from the beach, though they'd needed to wait for Rose to gain back control of her body before they moved. They returned to Pete's mansion in London, and Rose had gone directly to her bedroom, oblivious to the nervous glances Pete, Jackie and Mickey were giving her and each other. She quietly closed her door and sat tentatively on the edge of her bed. The room was almost an exact copy of her room back in the other universe, down to the pink walls and fluffy pink comforter.

Tears were still streaming down her cheeks and she felt bile start to rise up into her throat. She dashed to the bathroom down the hall and voided her stomach, her face in the toilet as she threw up violently. The door opened and Rose didn't look up to see her mother, who grabbed a washcloth and was running it under the sink. She felt Jackie gently pull her hair away and place the cold cloth on the back of her neck. She passed Rose a different cloth, which Rose used first to wipe her face and then to wipe her mouth, and she threw it into the pantry. Her mother said nothing during the process. When Rose felt she could stand, she quickly brushed her teeth to get rid of the taste and led herself be guided back to her bedroom by her mother.

She didn't argue while Jackie helped her change into a pair of clean jimjams, or when Jackie tucked her into her bed as though she were five. She was grateful when her mum stayed for a few minutes, saying nothing and stroking her hair, but she didn't vocalize her thanks. When her eyes had been closed and her breathing evened out, Jackie took a last glance at Rose and slipped out of the room, moving her trashcan closer to the bed before she did so.

Rose's sleep was fitful, The Doctor's voice now completely gone. She had nightmares about Cybermen and Daleks and being completely alone in nothingness, calling for her Doctor but barely even hearing her own voice. She awoke to her own scream and her mother bursting into her room. Jackie sat next to her and wrapped her up in her arms, holding her daughter to her chest. Rose gripped her mum's arms tightly, tears falling freely from her eyes and sobs wracking through her body. She wasn't sure how long they stayed there, gaining comfort from each other so like she had done with The Doctor after their adventures.

Tears eventually dried and sobs became hiccups and sniffles. Her mum gently wiped her tears from her cheeks and pulled the blankets back over Rose, who was shaking violently.

* * *

She had nightmares for weeks.

And the pattern remained the same. Some nights she managed to avoid getting sick and it was only the nightmares that ruined her sleep. Her mother said nothing about the nightly disturbances but continued to come hold Rose after particularly bad dreams.

Torchwood was treating her well enough. She was in the Alien History and Research department of the institution, which seemed vastly different from Torchwood One in the other universe. She often cooperated with Alien Communications and Language to meet with extra-terrestrials, making a name for herself as one of the best liaisons and communicators available. Though her disposition had changed – Rose often wore a serious face and rarely smiled or laughed, Rose had not forgotten how to empathize with aliens and often made friends with those who ended up at Torchwood.

There were, of course, those who thought that Rose was only so well received because her father, Pete, was the director of Torchwood, but they were proven wrong as soon as they worked with her, quieted by her quick and efficient work ethic. Soon she'd earned her own office with her name written on the door and the desk and a view of London.

The nightmares had mostly passed when she began searching for her own apartment, unable to get used to the lavish mansion or being back with her overbearing mother. The throwing up seemed to be completely finished when she found an apartment she liked that was neither too far from Torchwood nor too far from her parents' place. The screaming in her sleep had stopped when she told Pete and Jackie that she was moving out. Her mother had protested, of course, but Pete had simply placed his hand on her shoulder and verified that she'd saved enough of her paycheck to pay for rent and food.

"Are you sure you want to go, sweetheart?" Her mother asked as they loaded the last of her things into Pete's jeep. Pete had graciously offered to buy her new furniture, and the three of them had been shopping for days, finding Rose a couch, chairs, a table, a bed, and anything she could need at her apartment. Her mother had also packed her lots of food and tea, which she was having trouble fitting into the trunk of the jeep.

Rose sighed. "Yes mum," she replied tiredly. They'd had this conversation many times. "'Sides, bit too late to change my mind now, even if I wanted to. I've already paid rent for this month and all the furniture's being delivered today." Any minute now, actually. They had to get going. She didn't let Jackie start again and quickly moved to the jeep's side, pulling the door open and sliding into the back seat. She Jackie huff through the rear view mirror and move to her own door, getting in and slamming the door shut behind her. Rose rolled her eyes at her mum's antics and stayed silent as Pete got into the driver's seat and started the jeep.

"All set?" He asked cheerfully, clearly not oblivious to the tense atmosphere but rather choosing to ignore it. Jackie huffed again and Pete winked at Rose through the rear view mirror, making her smile. They drove in silence to Rose's new flat, which was in a small apartment building. When they parked the car, the landlord, a quiet looking man who was balding and wearing a maroon jumper (that made Rose do a double take) with a collar from another shirt popping out around his neck and dark blue jeans.

When they all stepped out of the car, he walked over to Rose and handed her the keys, showing her which was to the building itself and which was to the apartment. He patted her shoulder with a smile.

"You'll enjoy it here, I think, Miss Tyler." He said cheerfully. "I'm not sticking around too long, just making sure everything is in order." He was an aging man, white hair, eyebrows and beard. His eyes were a bright blue and his smile was infectious. He was rather wide at the center.

"Thanks, Mr. Mott," Rose answered with a smile. She joined her mother and father in grabbing all her things from the jeep.

"Call me Wilf," Mr. Mott said, still quite cheerfully. He even grabbed one of her boxes and carried it up the stairs (there was no lift, for which he apologized. Repeatedly) and chatted on the way up, telling her about the different tenants as the passed their doors.

Eventually they reached flat 9, on the third floor of the 7-storey building, and stopped. Rose tentatively pulled out her key at Wilf's encouragement and put in it in the lock, using it to open the deadbolt and the handle before twisting the door handle and opening the door. The four of them stepped inside and put down their individual boxes.

"Here we are!" Wilf said, sounding slightly out of breath. "Take a look around then, make sure everything looks alright." He followed Rose as she took a quick look around, making sure all the lights were still working and everything still looked in alright shape. At her approval, Wilf smiled widely and shook her hand vigorously, wishing her a good move in and telling her to contact him with any questions. He gave her parents a cheerful goodbye and left, quietly closing the door behind him.

"Well," said Pete, moving away from the door and looking around Rose's new flat. "Looks nice. Clean." He remarked appreciatively.

The flat was a decent size, with a large living area and a small-ish kitchen, which was separated from the living room only with a half wall and started several feet towards the right from the front door. It boasted a stove, fridge, counters, and several cupboards. There was just enough room for the small dining table she'd bought, and its two chairs.

The living area was large, with wood floors and large windows at the back, directly across from the front door, which gave her a decent enough view of the street and buildings around her. There was lots of room for her large blue couch and mahogany coffee table. She'd put the couch against the right wall, she decided, so that she could put her new TV on the left wall rather that in the middle of the room. There was a large closet for her coats and boots near the door on the left.

Still on the left but further down was the door to her new bedroom. It was large enough for her queen-sized bed, her dresser, side tables, work desk and chair, and came with a closet.

The bathroom was on the right wall, past the kitchen. It was large enough for a tub, shower, large sink and counter, and toilet.

She'd be confortable here, she thought. She was still deciding how to arrange all her furniture when a loud buzzer pulled her from her thoughts. She went to the speaker near the door and hesitantly pushed the _talk_ button.

"Hello?" She said tentatively.

"Delivery for Rose Tyler," Said the voice on the other side, muffled as it came through. Rose pressed the other button _open_, to let the deliveryman into the building.

"You should be more careful who you let into the building," Jackie told her. "Make sure it's who they say they are." She'd clearly had her walk around the new flat and was finding it hard to find anything to complain about."

"It's not a bad area, mum. Much better than the Powell estates." Rose told her mother with an eye roll. "'Sides, we knew they were coming."

Before they could get into a disagreement, Pete clapped his hands together. "Alright, then. What do you need help with, Rose?" He looked around for anything he could move.

Rose paused. How long did she want her parents here? She was itching to be on her own – she felt like she hadn't been since she'd arrived in Pete's world. Her mum was always at the mansion and if Rose wasn't there she was at work with loads of people. "Maybe if you could just help me move the furniture P…dad." She was trying to call him _dad_ rather than _Pete_.

He nodded awkwardly. "Sure, sure."

A knock on the door broke through the uncomfortable silence. Rose quickly moved to the door and opened it, revealing two very strong-looking movers carrying a very large desk. They asked Rose if she might leave the door opened for them, so they wouldn't have to knock every time, and Rose obliged. They put the desk down in the living room and Rose and Pete got to work moving it into her bedroom while Jackie pretended to be occupied with something else.

The pattern continued like that – the movers brought the furniture, Rose and Pete placed it, and Jackie occupied herself with unpacking Rose's clothes and hanging it in the closet or placing it the dresser. It took 3 hours for everything to be done – they didn't have to put any of the furniture together, only put it in place. Jackie wasn't finished with the clothes by the time Rose and Pete had placed all the furniture, and she fussed when Pete insisted they leave Rose to finish unpacking on her own.

"You'll be home for Sunday dinners, no fussing or moaning. I'm going to expect you at 4PM sharp every Sunday so that you can spend time with Tony." Jackie continued, standing her ground as Pete tugged her arm.

"Yes, mum," Rose ushered her to Pete.

When Rose was finally alone, she huffed a sigh of relief. She wanted a cuppa, but her mugs were still packed and she just wanted to sit for a bit. She sat on the edge of her new couch, purchased by Pete. Her eyes scanned her new place with trepidation. She tried to keep her breathing even.

All she'd wanted while her parents were there was for them to leave, and now that she was alone, she suddenly felt the weight of the wrong universe on her shoulders.

For the first time since she'd been in Pete's world, she let her thoughts of The Doctor come to the forefront of her mind. How was he doing? Had he found another companion? Was he travelling the stars with someone new? Had he forgotten her?

Something weird started to happen as she thought of The Doctor. The pain was there, yes, but so was something else. She felt a warmth start to spread within her, and a brightness that great before her eyes until it was almost blinding.

Until she was blind to the reality before her. A single thought pulsated though her brain.

_I can see all that is, all that was, all that ever could be_.

She stayed unmoving for hours while time danced before her eyes, with no one to see her glowing gold, the time vortex swirling in her eyes.

_Bad Wolf._

* * *

**Hehehe! It's Pete's world Wilf! **

**Review! **


	4. Chapter 4: Torchwood

**Here's chapter 4, dears! **

"Dammit," she muttered, crumpling yet another paper in a ball and tossing it into the trash bin.

One year.

One_ year_ she'd been trapped in the parallel universe.

She was sitting in her office, at her desk, at 2 AM on a Saturday. She propped her elbows on her desktop and placed her face in her palms, rubbing her face, trying to wake herself up. "Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit." She continued, talking to herself.

She did that a lot these days. After a few seconds of stillness, she took a deep breath and stood up from her comfortable chair – too comfortable for 2 AM. She made her way out of her bright office into the dimly lit hall, to the staff room. She flicked the switch and blinked at the sudden light. She took yet another moment before moving to the coffee machine and starting it up.

She'd made a whole pot of coffee no more than an hour ago, but she supposed that in the small hours of the morning that was acceptable. She stayed on her feet while the machine did its magic, fearing that if she sat in the comfortable couches of the staff room she'd fall asleep.

She tried to think of anything but The Doctor, anything but the TARDIS, anything but his laugh, his smile. Anything but the way he said her name, anything but the feel of her hands in his, their fingers tangled together. She couldn't afford to think about how desperate she was to see him again, that she would do _anything_, give _anything_ to be with him again.

The beep of the coffee machine drew her from her thoughts and she poured herself the largest mug of coffee she could find, not putting anything in it. She just wanted the caffeine at this point. She wished she could just take the whole pot back to her office with her, but then it would go cold, she rationalized. She wouldn't want cold coffee; she'd never liked cold coffee.

She took a sip of her coffee and hummed contently and with a sigh she walked back to her office. She put her mug on her desk and plopped into her seat, grabbing yet another research paper on the possibility of getting between dimensions.

Four months ago – four months and thirteen days ago, actually – the heads of the Technological Development, the Astrophysics Department and of the Interdimensional Physics departments had spoken to her about the creation of a device that would break through the walls locking her (well, they hadn't been speaking about her in particular, but that's how she heard it) into this universe.

A dimension canon, they'd called it.

She'd written her own paper on the topic – being in the Department of Alien Communications and Research meant she'd researched extensively on space travel done my many different kinds of species across this universe. She'd worked with physicist upon astrophysicist to contemplate the possibility of using alien technology of dematerialization to leave the dimension, and there had been many proposals worked out by several members of Torchwood.

The work had to be kept top secret, of course. They couldn't have people knowing what alien technology they had available to them on earth, or that they were working on interdimensional travel.

So when experts in black holes and gravitational space corridors were brought in, they were sworn to secrecy and not permitted to work anywhere outside of Torchwood, where all research was supervised. She knew this firsthand – all her own research had bee supervised and it had taken her two months to get used to being checked for any papers or research on her person every time she left Torchwood.

So now here she was, sitting at her office at 2 AM on a Saturday night…or…morning…or…whatever, researching these ridiculous topics that she'd never heard of before her arrival to the parallel world. She'd never thought she'd amount to anything without her A levels, and while Torchwood had had her do compressed schooling to get them as she moved through the ranks, she still felt she'd managed to accomplish more than she'd even hoped.

At one hell of a price.

* * *

"Rose!"

Rose was jolted awake by the loud voice, nearly shouting her name. She sat up too quickly, confused when her head hit the headrest on her seat. "What?" She slurred. Papers fell from her desk at her sudden movement, to which she paid not attention. She looked up and saw Mickey standing in her office and Pete leaning in the doorway, both staring at her. Mickey was holding two mugs of coffee.

Pete sighed, entered the office fully and closing the door behind him. "Rose," he started quietly, "Rose, what time did you get here?" Rose felt like this was a test.

One she wasn't sure she would pass. "Um…8." She tried.

Mickey and Pete shared a glance. "It's 7:30." Pete told her, a one sided smirk on his face. He gave Mickey a hard look until Mickey took the hint. He gave her a perplexed look and an encouraging smile before leaving her office quietly.

"Rose," Pete said as he pulled a chair up to her desk and sat across from her, resting his forearms on her desk and staring intently at her. "You were here all night." It wasn't a question.

Rose didn't dignify that with an answer. She sipped her coffee and pulled yet another paper to her, set on ignoring the inquiry.

"Rose," Pete said again, obviously frustrated. "Rose if you stay here all night again I will put on you mandatory leave."

"What," Rose sputtered, nearly spitting out her coffee. "Pete, you can't be serious. I am the best researcher on this project." Desperation was seeping through her tone and her eyes as she looked at her father.

"You are." Pete agreed, "But only when you've had a good night's sleep. You're killing yourself, Rose."

Rose starred back at him, frustrated. "Pete." She checked to make sure the door was closed. "Pete, I can't be here anymore. This universe…this world isn't for me. I need to get back to h-…to my universe." She stuttered over the word. She knew Pete knew what she'd been about to say. He knew how she felt about this universe, about being without The Doctor.

Pete's eyes softened. "I know. I'm not going to pretend I know how you feel, but I know how hard a time you're having. And we're trying to help, your mother and I, we really are. We just don't know what to do anymore."

"I know. I'm doing the best I can." Rose told him, begging him to understand. She rubbed her face, much like she'd done at 2AM, but not for the same reason. She needed him to understand her loneliness, her frustration, her heartbreak. She started the stress, to panic. Her hands started to shake.

Pete noticed. He started to stand watching her with wide eyes. "Rose, are you alright?"

"Shit." Rose muttered. "Are the blinds closed?" she asked her father quietly. He glanced at them briefly and nodded, his motions quick and nervous. Rose sighed in relief, still shaking. "I'm really sorry about what's going to happen."

Her gaze lifted upwards and Pete stumbled back when he saw her eyes glowing gold and the rest of her body following suit. Words that came from no one but sounded suspiciously like Rose rang out in the room, quietly and double toned.

_I can see all that was, all that is, all that ever could be_.

* * *

"I don't wanna talk about it." Rose told her father in a hushed tone.

Pete had ambushed Rose at the door as soon as she'd arrived for Sunday dinner. He'd dragged her into his office, out of Jackie's earshot, with a tight smile at his wife and a short explanation of, "it's a work thing. Won't take a minute." To which she'd muttered something about leaving work at the office to spend some quality time with family.

"You were _glowing_." Pete's voice was equally hushed, though much harsher than Rose's. His eyes shone with worry, and Rose felt bad, making him worry like that, but she stood her ground.

"It's no big deal," she insisted.

"No big deal?" Pete repeated. His eyebrows shot up so high they could have been a part of his very short hair. "Rose, there was a voice…"

"It's no big deal." Rose confirmed, watched as her father began to pace around the dim office. "It's happened before, and it passes. It's not like it lasts very long, or hurts me, or hurts anyone around me."

"It's happened before." He was just repeating everything she was saying now, it seemed. "Rose, what would happen if someone saw you? You were gold, your eyes were gold, and a voice that sounded like you but wasn't you came out of nowhere."

Rose sighed. "The first couple times it happened, I had no idea what was going on. I thought exactly what you just said, and I was scared of being taken for experiments. Torchwood might be better here but it's still not perfect. But now I know when to expect it, and I can hide until it passes."

"What is it?" Pete demanded.

Rose's face hardened. "It's Bad Wolf. _I'm_ Bad Wolf. I created myself to save the universe and to save The Doctor."

Pete made his way behind his desk and sat in the leather chair, leaning forward to cross his arms on the large mahogany desk. "Tell me everything."

Just as Rose opened her mouth to speak (she hadn't decided whether to actually explain what she remembered or to tell him once again that it was not big deal), Jackie's voice echoed through the walls.

"This is _not _what I'd consider spending quality time as a family," She called to them. Rose could hear plates being set down much to harshly.

She gave a sigh of relief and annoyance. "We'd better go before she breaks one of the plates." Pete opened his mouth, about to protest, she assumed. She raised her hand and shook her head. "I'll explain another time."

Pete continued to stare at her, deciding whether or not to protest, and then tapped the desk with his palms in defeat. He stood, saying nothing, and he and Rose made their way down to the dining room.

Tony was already sitting in his high chair, a bowl of…something… in front of him, smearing it on his face cheerfully, eating very little. Jackie fussed over him, "Tony, come on then, eat your food." She looked up to her daughter and husband. "It's about time. Grab a plate and serve yourselves." She said, sitting down at her usual place at the table with a plate that already contained her meal.

"Sorry mum," Rose muttered, taking the plate and heading to the kitchen.

Jackie's eyes softened. "Always at work, the pair of you." She said with a small smile.

Dinner was a quiet affair, except for Tony, who was bubbling out incomprehensible sounds and still smearing his food on any and all surfaces within his reach. Jackie questioned them about work, to which Rose and Pete gave monosyllabic answers. When they'd finished eating, the father and daughter pair gathered up the dishes and moved to the kitchen to clean them.

Pete said nothing the whole time, still shooting Rose suspicious glances every once in a while. They washed the dishes in tense silence.

Once they'd finished, Rose patted her hands dry on her pants, to Jackie's displeasure, and announced that she had to head out early to continue some work that she was behind on. Jackie protested and Pete rolled his eyes at her, but they let her take off in her small Toyota.

It took only seven minutes for Rose to arrive at her own building, three minutes to get up the stairs, and twenty seconds for her to get her key in the lock and open her door. She breathed a sigh of relief as soon as the door closed behind her and removed her runners and jacket, putting them both in the closet. She stretched briefly and then moved to the couch, sitting down with a huff. She rested her elbow on the armrest and her chin on her fist and looked out the window.

She didn't really have to work – she _couldn't_ work, considering how she couldn't bring any of her research home with her. But she couldn't spend another second with her mum jabbering on, her father staring at her intently, questioningly.

She sat for hours, simply staring out the window.

**Review please :)**


	5. Chapter 5: Dimension Canon

**Chapter 5, dears! Also, big thanks to MirrorFlower and DarkWind, who has reviewed every chapter!**

"Miss Tyler," a familiar voice called out to her as she walked from the parking lot to the apartment building door, carrying her groceries. She turned to spot to see Wilf waking toward her.

She stopped and smiled at her landlord, "Hi, Wilf." She said cheerfully. "And it's Rose, not Miss Tyler."

"Rose," he responded with a smile. "Let me get the door for you." And he did so, unlocking the door and holding it open for her. He chatted with her as they made their way up the stairs, telling her about how he was finishing up his rounds of checking his buildings for the week. She remarked that it was unusual for a landlord to make rounds on a Saturday evening. "Used to do Saturday dinners with my daughter, but she's been too busy these days."

They'd reached Rose's door, and she noticed a slightly dejected expression from Wilf as she unlocked the door. "Wilf…do you want to come in for dinner?"

The responding smile made Rose's day. "I wouldn't want to bother you." He tried, but Rose shook her head and entered her apartment, leaving the door open and signaling with a bob of her head for him to follow her.

"I'm making lasagna." She said, dropping her groceries on the kitchen counter and turning to face him as he shut the door behind him. "Usually, I would eat my food on my couch and watch some bad TV. I'd much rather have a dinner guest."

"Well!" He clapped his hands together and looked at her with a brilliant smile on his face. "How can I help?"

He became a regular guest for dinner on days when she wasn't busy, and was always equally enthusiastic about it. They became close friends – he told her about how disappointed he'd been when he hadn't had any grandchildren, she told him how she felt she didn't fit anywhere in the world. They shared a love for the stars, and awe for everything in the sky. She even shared her affinity for old police telephone boxes from the fifties, which he recalled from his youth.

He started to take her out on his stargazing excursions – lugging around his telescope while he carried blankets and tea. They took turns looking through the telescope and pointed out anything they found interesting.

"Oh my god," he muttered on one of those days – she withdrew her gaze from the stars and looked to him. He didn't have the smile he usually wore when he found something he admired.

"What did you find?" she asked cheerfully, keeping the smile on her face.

"The stars…Rose, the stars are going out." His voice lifted an octave.

"What?" Rose said in disbelief, "Wilf, are you sure? That's not right, that can't be right."

He pulled her arm and pointed at the telescope. She looked through and withdrew too quickly, staring up at the sky in shock.

The stars were going out.

* * *

"Rose!" The sound of her name made her jump. She looked up from her computer, where she was working on the dimension canon.

They'd created a machine, a real machine, which was doing…something. They'd been trying it by using inanimate objects and sending them to where they hoped was a parallel world.

But they weren't coming back. The machine was supposed to bring whatever they'd sent after two minutes back. And nothing was coming back, and since nothing they were sending was coming back they couldn't check it for void stuff.

"Rose!" The shouting was accompanied by running footsteps. She looked up in shock when Mickey burst into her office, out of breath, reaching a dead stop when he reached her desk. She stared back at him with wide eyes, waiting for some sort of explanation. "It worked. It worked, Rose."

There was only one thing he could be talking about. Rose shot out of her chair, making it topple over, even though it was on wheels. She never lost eye contact with Mickey, who was still trying to catch his breath. "It worked?" She breathed, her heart pounding in her chest; beating so hard she could feel it everywhere in her body. Mickey nodded vehemently.

For a moment, everything stopped. All Rose was aware of was her heart, which seemed to go in slow motion, and her breathing, which had gone from normal to quick, shallow breaths.

And then she was running.

* * *

"_Dammit _Pete! It should be me!" Rose shouted angrily.

"_Sit. Down." _Pete yelled back.

There were in his office, one day after the dimension canon had worked. The shouting match seemed to shake the walls of the office, and before Pete had forcefully closed the blinds in the windows to the hall, she'd seen employees peering at them with wide or confused eyes. His hands were balled into fists, and his knuckles dug into the wooden top of the desk, on which he was supporting his weight. Rose was standing on the other side of the desk, her face contorted into an angry grimace.

"_I_ have been working on this project since day one_, I deserve_ to be the one to go through." Rose continued, still shouting and definitely not sitting. Her heart pounded in her ears and she glared angrily at her father. She _did_ deserve this. She _needed_ this.

"_You _are a communicator." Pete hissed at her. "Do you think I can afford to lose Torchwood's best alien communicator? Now _SIT. DOWN._"

Rose sat stiffly in the chair facing the desk, her back rigid and her posture still angry. Once she did, Pete heaved a sigh and sat heavily, rubbing his face tiredly. Rose saw this and examined her father's face more closely. He looked more tired than she'd thought, with heavy bags under his eyes and lines forming around the corners of his mouth.

"Rose," he started quietly. "The risk of sending you through to _we don't know where_ is too high. The chances of you not finding your way back, or of getting stuck in the void, or of arriving somewhere dangerous is _just too high_."

It was Rose's turn to sigh. "I am Torchwood's best alien communicator, you just said it yourself. I can manage with so many species. My chances of communicating with life forms are higher than any one else's. My experiences with time and space travel make me the best candidate to test the dimension canon."

Pete examined her face, searching for something. "In all of your research, did you come across the reason we were doing this?"

Rose's eyes widened in surprise. "This is the next step for humans. Now that we know that there are other dimensions."

"And that is the reason you will always see on paper." Pete told her with a nod. Rose's eyes searched his face for answers.

"That's…not the reason?" She didn't know what to say.

And then a thought came to her.

A terrible thought.

A horrible, terrible thought.

"The…the stars are going out." She said quietly, looking up at her father.

He blinked at her in surprise, and took several minutes before he replied. "How did you know?"

Rose sighed. "Mr. Moss - Wilf - he and I are friends and he likes to stargaze, so sometimes I go with him." Rose had become very fond of Wilf, and she knew that fondness was coming through in her tone. "A few weeks ago, we were outside and stargazing and he said the stars were going out. I didn't believe him." She let out a huff of air. "I mean, _stars_ going out. Stars don't go out. But then I looked in that damn telescope." She stood and started to pace around the office. "And Pete, _the stars were going out_." She looked at her father. "So that's why we're building a dimension canon."

Pete sighed. "We need The Doctor."

Rose's face hardened. "So the stars are going out and we're building a device that will launch someone through the dimensions, seeing if it's just here or if it's everywhere. And regardless of that, we need The Doctor."

"Yes."

"And you've spent the last hour trying to tell me that I'm not going." She spat. Her father looked at her in defeat. "I have the _best chance_. The _best. Chance. _Of finding him. I _will find him_." She blinked, and for a moment, her eyes shone gold, and Pete stepped back.

Pete advanced until he was only a foot away from his daughter. He gripped her arms and searched her eyes. "Rose?"

She looked at him, her hazel eyes hard and her posture stiff. They stood like that for several minutes before Rose's eyes welled up with tears. A sob broke through her lips before she clamped them shut. "I need to find him, Pete."

He stared her down for a few minutes before nodding mutely.

* * *

"Rose, we have to stop for the day." Richard Paler told her. Starting the process of shutting off the different parts of the dimension canon, signaling the rest of the team to do the same.

"No, doctor Paler, one more jump!" Rose insisted.

The dimension canon had been working for a full week and Rose had been doing as many jumps as she could handle in a day, which was sometimes three and sometimes up to five. She spent approximately two minutes wherever she landed, reporting back to doctor Paler as to if she'd landed in the right dimension, on the right planet, if it was close their right time. She travelled with a watch that adjusted to wherever she landed, and a translator attached like a cell phone clipped to her belt loops, and a stun gun that she carried in case of emergencies. She could usually sense if she was still in the wrong dimension if she felt the wrongness, the universe trying to throw her out. She'd learn what planet she was on by asking any inhabitants she met.

And everywhere she went, the stars were going out.

"You've made six jumps today, Rose, that's enough. You're exhausted – we have to make sure you're ready for this tomorrow and if you keep going this way you won't be." Paler told her, placing an arm on her shoulder.

Paler was a tall man in his early thirties, with wavy black hair and a wide face with high cheekbones. His deep green eyes were kind as they implored her to let it go, to get some rest. Her hazel eyes met his, unwavering. "Go home." He told her, gripping her shoulder tightly. "Get some rest."

"But I – " Rose tried, but Paler wasn't having it. He shook his head at her and gave her a small shove toward the door.

In a very mature, adult, stuck-in-the-wrong-universe move, she stuck her tongue out at him, which made him chuckle but didn't change his mind. She didn't see how he shook his head at her turned back with a wide grin on his face. She didn't see the rest of the team smile back and him, joining in the silent joke of Rose Tyler, defender of the universe and her refusal to rest.

Rose didn't feel the fatigue until she was out of the basement lab – she'd taken the stairs out of habit and struggled the catch her breath when she reached the top. The stress of the day was getting to her. She felt heavy, as though the void stuff that she knew now clung to her, weighing her down. She sat on the top step and buried her face in her hands. Eventually she let out a sigh and crossed her arms over her knees then rested her forehead on her forearms.

She wasn't sure how long she sat there, paying attention only to her breathing. She thought of going home – of driving back to her lonely apartment, of having a lonely microwave dinner on her lonely couch. She was so tired of being alone, of missing The Doctor, of this world, of everything. Exhaustion pressed down on her heart and lungs.

"Rose?" Doctor Paler's voice. She didn't lift her head, but mumbled a quiet acknowledgement. She heard him lightly climb the stairs and sit heavily next to her with a huff, the contrast in the noises almost comical. She turned her head to catch sight of him with her right eye, and he continued to stare straight ahead. She lowered her eyes again.

"I'm tired." His voice came as a shock, bringing her eyes back to him. "I'm so tired, Rose. We're here every day, working on this project, perfecting this project, so that we can send you hurtling through to the right dimension. We're here, staring at screens or reading papers and worrying, hoping to god that you didn't land somewhere dangerous, that the equipment won't malfunction. And it's exhausting."

Rose lifted her head and met his eyes for a moment, and she saw the exhaustion in her eyes, on his face. After a second, she tentatively rested her head on his shoulder, sighing deeply. "I'm so tired." She murmured. He didn't argue, or stiffen, he simply let her be.

He brought his right hand to her head, where it rested on his left shoulder, and gently stroked her hair. He rested her head against hers. "I know."

They stayed sitting together for a while, not saying anything, until Rose broke the silence. "Do you want to come over for dinner?"

He checked his watch and chuckled, "It's 10 PM."

"I know."

"Alright." He stood, grabbing her hands to help her up. They walked together, slowly, to the doors. He offered his hand, and she took it, grateful for the support.

**Yes? No? Review, please :)**


	6. Chapter 6: Jack

**Sorry for the wait, dears! Here's chapter six - there's some coarse language in here, so if you're not comfortable with that...sorry?**

They'd made so many advances on the dimension canon. One month in, they'd learned how to identify where Rose had landed without her having to tell them. Five months in, she'd landed briefly in the right universe for her allotted two minutes, though on the wrong planet, which had resulted in a very long night of celebrating for all members of Torchwood.

Which was why today, she was sitting in her office rather than working down in the lab, with her blinds closed, drinking her third cup of coffee since the hour that she had been at work to help swallow the ibuprofen.

So when Paler walked into her office and switched the light on, decidedly confused and significantly less hung over than her, she groaned and hit her eyes in her hands. He shot her a bemused look and turned the light back off and moved to her desk. She uncovered her eyes and raised her eyebrows at him. His shot up in response and he chuckled, walking back out of her office for only a moment before coming back with a large glass of water. He put in down in front of her and pulled back her cup of coffee.

"You want hydration over caffeine." He told her softly.

Rose groaned again. "I think I want caffeine over hydration." She muttered, but she drank from the glass anyway, wincing slightly when the cold water hit her throat. When she finished, she looked up at Paler. "What've you got for me?"

"Pardon?"

"You're in my office." Rose said blankly.

"I can't just say hi?" He said with a small smile on his face, reaching forward to brush a lock of hair out of her face. She recoiled slightly, not expecting his hand in her face.

"You can." She admitted, "but you don't."

"Rose –" he started.

"Richard." She responded in the same tone. His first name felt funny on her lips.

He sighed and sat lightly in the chair facing her desk. "Fine. It _is_ good news though. We've found a way for you to have more time in the other universes." At this, Rose sat up in her chair, still hugging her cup of coffee. "Not indefinite time, and we will still be able to pull you back if we feel it's necessary, but yeah. We're working on an addition to your watch, a way for you to signal to us when you're fine, and when you're ready to come back."

Rose's mouth had popped open. She clamped it closed and stood up, pushing her chair back. "What are we waiting for, then? Let's go." She spoke too loud, making her wince and rub her forehead. He tried to hide his smirk and was unsuccessful.

He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her gently back into her chair. "Maybe you should just sit for a while."

Rose sighed but stood back up. "If I can sit here I can run through dimensions. Actually, I'd rather run through dimensions. It'll help pass the headache." With determination, she made her way to the door. Paler chuckled and followed her out.

* * *

"What the _hell?_" Rose muttered. She'd travelled through dimensions and landed in some sort of…hub…office…thing. She looked around in confusion.

"_WHAT THE HELL_." She heard from behind her. She whipped around and saw a young man with red-ish hair and a stern face. She gave an unsure smile and wave of her fingers.

The man ran to a button on the wall and slammed his hand on it. Huge metal doors slammed shut, locking them into the room. Red lights flashed and a robotic voice spoke.

"BREACH, BREACH."

An image popped up on the wall and a familiar face spoke. "Owen, what the hell is going on?" Rose felt excitement bubble in her chest.

"This girl just appeared out of nowhere!" The one called Owen shouted.

Jack's face searched through what she assumed was the camera on his phone to find the intruder. She made it easier for him, stepping into the image. _"Jack?" _She said excitedly.

Jack's face lit up when he saw her. "ROSE!" His eyes found Owen again. "Shut down the alarm, I'll be there as soon as I can."

Rose was sitting awkwardly in an uncomfortable chair, being stared at by Owen. It was twenty minutes before the door opened and Jack ran. She'd signaled to her coworkers in the other universe that she was alright using her time-zone watch.

Rose jumped up from her seat and ran to her old friend, feeling relief and joy when he caught her in his arms, hugging her tight and spinning her around. He laughed loudly and kissed her cheek. "You're _alive!_ I thought you were dead!" He put her down, keeping his arms around her waist.

"Not dead. Lost in the wrong universe."

"Lost?" His eyebrows shot up. He removed his arms from her waist but grabbed her hand. "Do tell."

They moved to Jack's office, still hand in hand. "Do you remember the invasion of the Cybermen?" Rose asked him, feeling Owen's eyes on her back.

Jack chuckled, though not with humor. "Something like that is hard to forget."

Rose acknowledged that with a _tsk_. "The Doctor and I were in Torchwood." She looked around, "not this Torchwood. We used these levers to open a doorway into the void - the space between universes – and it sucked up anything with void stuff on them. Anyone who had travelled between universes had void stuff on them, including me and The Doctor and all the Cybermen and Daleks." Jack was hanging on her words, sitting behind his desk with her sitting across from him, their hands still clasped together. "We had to pull up these levers and then hang onto clamps that were on the walls. It's…hard to explain." She closed her eyes. "But my lever didn't lock into place. It started to close the window, or door, and the Cybermen and Daleks weren't being sucked in anymore. So I let go of my clamp." Jack's hands tightened around hers. "I pulled the lever back up and it locked into place. But I couldn't –" Rose's breath caught in her chest. Jack stood and came to her side, kneeling next to her. He ran his hand over her hair. "I couldn't hang on. I fell and I was getting tugged into the void. And then my dad – my dad from the other universe – appeared out of nowhere, using this dimension hopper-thing. And he brought me to his universe, but then the walls between the worlds closed and I was stuck. I was stranded over there."

"Oh, Rose." Jack stood and pulled Rose into a hug that was awkward only because he was standing and she was sitting. "How long has it been since you saw him?"

Rose took a breath. "Two years."

Jack let out a huff of air and hugged her tighter.

After a couple minutes of just hugging each other, Jack pulled away suddenly. "I have news for you, too." Rose stared up at him with wide eyes. "Rose, I'm a fixed point in time. I can't die."

Rose didn't break eye contact for several moments. "The…the game station. Bad Wolf." It was a question, one she almost didn't want the answer to. "I did this to you." She began to shake.

"Rose!" Jack pulled her back in for another hug. "It's okay. It's fine, Rose. You're always forgiven."

Suddenly the tingling started. She knew exactly what it meant – her time in this universe was ending. "Jack, listen. I'll find you again. I swear. I'll find The Doctor and I'll find you." She was disappearing, and Jack watched with wide, horrified eyes as Rose dissolved before his eyes.

And then she was gone. Jack closed his eyes and bit back tears, forcing himself not to cry. She'd find him again. She promised.

* * *

"No." Rose moaned. "Why did you bring me back?" She'd been with Jack, her friend who hadn't died at the game station, who was alive and well in her universe, who worked for Torchwood, just like her.

"We couldn't see you. We had no idea where you were. If we couldn't see you, we couldn't tell if maybe you'd lost signal on your watch or communicator." Robert put her hands on her shoulders and searched her face, finding only frustration. He pulled her in for a tight hug. It was a moment before Rose responded in kind, hugging him back nowhere near as tightly as he hugged her.

Rose gave a frustrated sigh and pushed away from him, giving him a slight nod. She said nothing to anyone else and started to make her way out of the lab. "Miss Tyler, you can make one more jump today," a young woman called after her.

Rose stopped for a moment, considering, but then shook her head and continued to walk, head down.

Paler found her sitting on the top step again.

* * *

"Wose!" The sound of small feet running across hardwood floors was the first thing that caught Rose's attention when she walked through the door to her parents' house. Her little brother crashed into her legs and Rose braced herself against the wall so she wouldn't fall over.

"Tony!" Rose replied with a laugh, picking him up in her arms. He was two years old and getting almost too heavy for her to carry. She made her way to the kitchen, where Jackie was making a salad.

"Hey, mum." Rose said, dropping the carrots she'd brought with her onto the counter next to the sink and kissing her mother's cheek.

"Hello, sweetheart," Jackie said with a smile towards her daughter. She chuckled at the sight of Rose carrying Tony around and the bright smile on his face. "He misses you all week, you know." She said, pointing her elbow at her son.

"I miss him, too." Rose pinched her brother's nose, making him giggle happily.

Jackie brought the salad bowl to the dinner table and placed it in the center. "Chicken's in the oven. It'll be done in a jiff." Jackie told Rose before turning her attention to Tony. "Why don't you show Rose your new fire truck, Tony?"

Rose gasped and looked at her little brother with wide eyes. "You have a new fire truck and you didn't tell me?"

He gave her a wide smile and he pointed towards his room. Rose carried him off, leaving Jackie to finish the dinner.

"So, your dad tells me you found someone you knew this week." Jackie started over dinner. Rose's jaw clenched and she lowered her gaze to her food. "That must have been exciting, right Sweetheart?" Jackie tried again. Rose lifted bitter eyes to her mother and gave a curt nod. "Well, maybe you're getting closer."

"Just hope we get this done before all the stars go out." She muttered, pushing her chair away from the table and standing. She grabbed her plate and carried it to the kitchen.

* * *

"_Fuckin' Christ,"_ Rose gasped as she dodged a sort of grenade that seemed to contain a weird sort of smoke It missed her by mere inches, and she stumbled to the ground. Ahead of her, the fog hit another alien and in seconds, he had disintegrated into dust.

Her watch had been lost upon arrival when she'd been taken into some sort of prisoner of war camp on the alien planet on another dimension. The planet, called Baclodaina, was being invaded by the Eknodine, a race looking for a new home after the destruction of their own in the Time War. The aliens being invaded, who already didn't like her simply because she was human, were called Silurians, and they looked upon her with distain. They were struggling in the war, being as they couldn't get close enough to the invaders to do much damage.

They'd provided her with armor – it was thin but apparently near indestructible, and felt like a diving suit. However, the gas (or whatever it was) seemed to seep through any opening, and the moment it touch skin it could kill anyone.

She'd been fighting for only a few hours – she hoped desperately that the Torchwood team would get off their asses and get her out of there, but until then she had no choice but to join the Silurians in the fight, using their strange guns and armor to fight their enemies.

She was very glad for her Torchwood training – to many people, landing in this situation would have been a death sentence. She had been able to talk with the war leader of the Silurians and explain her situation, and when he'd insisted she join the army and be useful, she bowed her head in consent and followed one of the strange reptilians to their storage.

So now she was on the front line, shooting the gun with deadly accuracy and desperately avoiding the gas.

It was probably the only time in her life she'd wished for the Bad Wolf.

**Review :) **


	7. Chapter 7: Donna

She woke up to a humming at the back of her mind, jerking into a sitting position. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what this presence was. Quickly, Rose threw off her blankets and stood, feeling slightly ridiculous. Mentally shrugging her shoulders (no one could see or here her, after all, except, she hoped, one man), she began to speak.

"Doctor?" His name caught in her throat.

In another universe, The Doctor's head shot up so quickly he hit it on the grating above him. He jumped from his swing, light brown hair flopping about as he quickly moved to the console. "Rose?" He whispered. It had been centuries since he'd said her name. And now he could hear her _voice_.

Before him, a ghostly image of his lost love appeared. The quality of the image was poor, but if the TARDIS had really managed to find a tiny gap between the worlds that would allow him to see her, even like this, he wouldn't complain.

Rose continued, her voice tentative, "Doctor, I don't know if you can hear me. I felt the TARDIS in my mind and thought it was worth a try." She was exactly like he remembered her, except, if it was possible, more beautiful. Her matted hair and ruffled jimjams told him she'd been sleeping, and by the poor lighting he assumed it was still nighttime.

"Oh, Rose." The Doctor's voice was more desperate than he'd intended. He didn't want to blink – he couldn't miss out on a second with this pink and yellow human. She didn't react to his voice, giving no indication that this communication could go both ways. With a sigh, and feeling a little crushed, he watched his girl.

"It's been two years since I saw you last, Doctor." Rose said softly. "They've been the hardest time of my life. But I'm working so hard with Torchwood, and I'm going to find you. And I saw Jack! Doctor, I saw Jack when I managed to get to the right universe! And – " her voice cut off and she disappeared.

* * *

He stiffened, "no," he muttered, making his way to the console to search for anyway to see her again. Tears stained his cheeks.

It took him what felt like hours before he gave up, closing his eyes and resting his weight on his palms against the console. He stood there for only a few minutes before he straightened himself and his bowtie, gave a half hearted twirl as he moved to the other side of the console, and set the coordinates for Woman Wept.

* * *

Rose knew the instant the TARDIS was gone. The hum disappeared from her mind and she was alone once more, standing in her bedroom. She closed her eyes and bit back a sob, ignoring the tears that were rolling down her cheeks.

Jackie was looking at her funny, which was making Pete give Jackie strange looks. Naturally, Tony was oblivious to the whole exchange of glances, happily eating his dinner, getting more on his face than in his mouth.

Rose sighed, dropping her fork onto the table. "What, mum?" She asked, her voice clipped and short.

Pete threw Jackie a _don't do it_ look, which Jackie staunchly ignored, decidedly not looking at her husband. Rose's eyes met her mother's, one pair irritated and tired, the other curious and wide. "There's something different about you." Jackie mused, searching her daughter for any indication of what it was. Rose tried to ignore her mother, lowering her eyes back to her meal and picking up her fork, taking small bites of the meatloaf on her plate. She could feel her mother's eyes on her the entire dinner, though she tried her best to ignore it.

* * *

"_SHIT!"_ She shouted, unmoving. Her eyes were turned up towards the sky, the black, empty sky. There were no stars, no sun, just the darkness. She didn't know what planet she was on, but she knew she was too late.

All she wanted to do was sit down and wait for the team to bring her back. She'd let them know that she wasn't in danger, and now her job was to make contact with the locals, to learn when the stars had started to go out.

* * *

More than two years, she'd been trapped in the wrong universe.

It felt like forever.

An eternity away from him.

The Doctor.

She was sitting in her all-too-comfortable chair, resting her elbows on her mahogany desk and her face in her palms.

She was so tired.

Exhausted, even.

Her limbs felt like lead, weighing her down in her seat so that she couldn't move. She'd jumped through so many universes, seen so many aliens, and so many planets where the stars had already gone out. She'd been too late in 26 different universes.

Frustration started to build within her, a ball of fire in her stomach that was slowly burning its way through her core. She was so tired of being late, of being in the wrong universe, of not finding The Doctor.

In a sudden rage, Rose stood abruptly, her office chair rolling back and slamming into the wall. In her fit, she through her half-full mug of coffee at the wall, where it shattered on impact. The noise drew the attention of many other employees outside her office. She glared at them until they looked away.

She marched forward and closed the wooden door so she wouldn't have to see the looks on her coworkers' faces.

* * *

"_Oh my GOD."_ Rose whispered to herself. She was in the right universe.

At the right time.

Now all she had to do was find The Doctor.

After they'd managed to find a trace of The Doctor, and a way to track it, the Torchwood team had been on the edge of their seats, waiting for news that they'd located the right universe.

In the distance she could see the flashing lights of emergency vehicles and a large crowd. She'd start there. She took off at a run, heading toward the mob, adrenaline pumping through her veins.

As she arrived at an ambulance taking away what looked like a gurney, she passed a redheaded woman. She came to a short stop. "What happened? What did they find? Sorry, did they find someone?" She asked quickly, eyes on the ambulance. She willed her hands to stop shaking.

The redhead gave her a strange look. "I don't know. Some bloke called the doctor, or something."

Rose's eyes widened. "Where is he?" She sounded breathless even to her own ears.

"They took him away." The woman gave her a look of pity. "He's dead."

Dead?

After everything, had she really been too late? Rose stared at the redhead, her mouth hanging open in horror and her eyes starting to glisten.

"I'm sorry. Did you know him?" The redhead asked, obviously unsure of how to deal with the distraught Rose. Rather than an answer, Rose lowered her eyes and slowly started to pace, her mouth still open as she tried to reconcile the idea of her Doctor being dead. "I mean, they didn't say his name." She suggested hopefully, following Rose. "It could be any doctor."

Rose wasn't listening. "I came so far." She murmured sadly, horror still painted on her face.

"It could be anyone." The woman tried again.

Rose whirled to face her when the redhead reached for her arm to try to comfort her. Her hazel eyes searching the unfamiliar face. "What's your name?" She asked abruptly.

"Donna. And you?" Donna. There was something off about Donna.

"Oh, I was just passing by." She examined Donna Noble. "I shouldn't even be here. This is wrong. This is so wrong." Was there something on Donna's back? She tried to subtly look as she distracted Donna. "Sorry what was it, Donna what?"

Donna's face became hard. "Why do you keep looking at my back?"

Damn. "I'm not." Rose quickly looked away and then back to Donna's face.

"Yes you are." Donna replied stubbornly. "You keep looking behind me. You're doing it now." Rose's eyes had strayed to whatever it was she couldn't see on Donna's back. "What is it? What's there?" Donna went into a panic, spinning around in an attempt to see her back. "Did someone put something on my back?"

As she searched, Rose felt the familiar tingle in her limbs, and she knew that when Donna looked for her again, she'd be gone.

* * *

"Look up a trace for Donna. You must have caught something when we talked. There's something weird about her." Rose was leaning over Paler's shoulder, reading the monitor in front of him.

Was Donna affiliated with The Doctor? There was definitely something off about her.

* * *

It took 4 days before they found a trace for Donna, and for whatever was on her back.

"They have separate readings." Rose gasped in awe.

"There's something else." Paler didn't look at her, his eyes strained on the screen in front of him. "It's like reality is bending around her, compensating for her. But it's not the only reality." Rose shot him a surprised look. "It's like she's building her own parallel universe." He continued.

"So, maybe, if we get her to stop – if we can break her connection with that thing on her back, she could return to her original universe? The Doctor might still be alive?" Rose demanded, her eyes wide. Paler met her eyes and they shared a thought.

There's still a chance.

* * *

Rose ran out of they alley, cutting of Donna Noble.

"Blimey, you all right? What was that? Fireworks?"

Act confused, Rose reminded herself, though she was internally beaming at having found Donna again.

"I dunno. I was just walking along. That's weird." Rose muttered, trying to keep up the charade.

She knew the moment Donna recognized her. "You're the one," Donna said with a small gasp. Rose didn't respond, simply brusher her hair out of her face while she waited for Donna to get over the shock. "Christmas Eve, I met you in town." Done continued.

Rose faked sudden realization. "Donna, isn't it?"

"What was your name?" Donna asked.

Rose stuck a cheerful smile on her face, crossing her arms as though guarding the information. "How're you doing? You're looking good. How's things? What you been up to?" She asked, the fake smile hurting her cheeks. Her eyes drifted to the nothing on Donna's back.

"You're doing it again." Donna said, her face stony.

"What?" The fake cheerful smile was gone.

"Looking behind me." Donna was clearly fed up. "People keep on doing that, looking at my back."

Other people could see it? Was Donna being watched by this universe's Torchwood? Or maybe UNIT? "What sort of people?"

"People in the street. Strangers." Donna replied, her voice wavering. Rose's eyebrows lowered in concern. "I just catch them sometimes, staring at me." Donna continued. "Like they're looking at something. And then I get home and I look and there's nothing there." Donna began to twitch, trying to catch whatever was there. "See, look? Now I'm doing it."

The creature wasn't Rose's main concern. She knew what would happen to the titanic if The Doctor wasn't present. "What are you doing for Christmas?" she asked, her voice light.

"What am I what?"

"Next Christmas." Rose continued. "Any plans?" It sounded like horribly awkward small talk.

"I don't know, that's ages away." Donna looked at Rose as though she'd lost her mind. "Nothing much, I suppose. Why?"

"Just," Rose picked at something on her blue leather jacket, "I think you should get out, you and your family. Don't stay in London, just leave the city." And stay alive, she wanted to add.

"What for?"

"Nice hotel…Christmas break?" Rose suggested. _And stay alive_ she shouted again in her head.

"Can't afford it." Donna said bitterly.

"Well, no, you've got that raffle ticket." Rose's eyes bored into Donna's, begging her to understand.

Donna's eyes widened slightly. "How do you know about that?" She whispered. Rose could imagine what was going on in her head. She might think she was going crazy. But that didn't matter as long as she listened and _got out_.

"First prize, luxury weekend break." Rose continued, not blinking. "Use it, Donna Noble. " Would dinner listen? She had to.

"Why won't you tell me your name?" Donna demanded, her face going hard again. They were back to that again, were they? Rose didn't respond. Donna began to walk, circling around Rose. "I think you should leave me alone." Donna continued, her voice bitter and angry. Rose said nothing.

As Donna walked away, Rose headed back to her correct universe.

* * *

They'd been right. The titanic had crashed into London, destroying and killing thousands in the process. They had managed to monitor the correct universe as well, where The Doctor was alive and non of this had happened.

It turned out that if things had gone as they were supposed to and The Doctor hadn't died, Donna would be his companion. They also began to notice separate readings from the creature on Donna's back.

The room was silent when they realized they needed to make sure Donna stayed alive, no matter what the cost. She needed to make things right.

* * *

Donna didn't even look surprised to see her. "Hello," she said softly, her voice tired.

"Hi," Rose responded, her face tired as well. She didn't smile, she didn't step towards Donna, she didn't look like she was trying to convince anyone of anything.

They moved to a park bench sitting side by side. "It's the ATMOS devices," Rose explained when Donna had recounted the story of the soldier trying to shoot the car. "We're lucky, it's not so bad here. Britain hasn't got that much petrol. But all over Europe." Rose's eyes were on the sky. She rubbed her face tiredly with one hand as Donna watched her, trying to understand what was happening. "China, South Africa," Rose continued. "They're getting choked by gas."

They were quiet for a moment as Donna processed the information. "Can't anyone stop it?" She asked quietly.

Rose looked at her. She could see the horror on Donna's face, but she could also see strain and fatigue. Donna was beyond exhausted, but Rose still needed her. "Yeah, they're trying right now, this little band of fighters, on board the Sontaran ship" Rose told her. Feeling pride swell in her chest as she thought of the Torchwood 3 team, fighting to save the world. Rose didn't need to look at Donna to see confusion on her face. "Any second now," She continued, waiting.

Then the sky caught fire.

Rose squinted to protect her eyes from the sudden light, but Donna's eyes were wide, staring up at the sky in shock and disbelief. Her jaw dropped.

"And that was…" Donna tried to make sense of what had just happened. Rose knew the feeling, how lost Donna was.

"That was the Torchwood team." Rose finished for her. She looked at Donna briefly before looking up at the sky again. "Gwen Cooper, Ianto Jones, they gave their lives." Fear pooled in Rose's core. "And Captain Jack Harkness has been transported to the Sontaran home world." Tears pricked at her eyes. "There's no one left." _Except me_, she reminded herself.

"You're always wearing the same clothes." Donna's voice returned to normal. Rose looked at her, her eyes still wet. "Why don't you tell me your name?"

"None of this was meant to happen." Rose said, her voice bitter, ignoring Donna's questions. Donna gave her a look of confusion, and Rose elaborated, tears finally falling free. "There was a man, this wonderful man, and he stopped it. The Titanic, the Adipose, the ATMOS, he stopped them all from happening."

"That doctor?" Donna asked.

Rose's lips pulled up for a small smile that lasted only a second. "You knew him." She told Donna, hoping that if Donna was the cause of the parallel universe, maybe she could remember the correct one.

"Did I?" Donna asked, her eyebrows pulled into a frown. Rose nodded almost imperceptively. "When?" Donna asked, obviously confused.

"I think you dream about him sometimes." Rose said. "It's a man in a suit. Tall, thin man. Great hair. Some really great hair." Did Donna remember?

"Who _are _you?" Donna asked again.

Fondness spread across Rose's face. "I was like you." She told Donna. "I used to be you. 'Cause you've travelled with him, Donna, you travelled with The Doctor in a different world." Rose was breaking all sorts of rules here, talking about the parallel world before Donna made up her mind.

Rose saw frustration in Donna's eyes. "I never met him." She insisted. "And he's dead."

Donna's words cut through Rose like a hot knife, but she tried not to react. "He died underneath the Thames on Christmas Eve, but you were meant to be there." Rose looked closely at Donna's face. "He needed someone to stop him, and that was you. You made him leave." She paused. "You saved his life."

For a split second, Rose thought she saw recognition on Donna's face, and she felt hope begin to spread in her. Had she succeeded? Just as she began to hope, Donna said, "Stop it! I don't know what you're talking about. Leave me alone." She stood up from the bench and began to walk back towards her house.

Rose chased after her. "Something's coming, Donna. Something worse." Donna turned to look at her again.

"The whole world is stinking." Donna told her bitterly. "How can anything be worse than this?"

"Trust me," Rose said, walking toward her. "We need The Doctor more than ever. I've…" her breath caught in her throat and tears formed in her eyes again. "I've been pulled across from a different universe because every single universe in in danger." Donna said nothing. "It's coming, Donna. It's coming from across the stars and nothing can stop it."

Tears formed in Donna's eyes as well. "What is?" She half shouted.

Rose paused. "The darkness." She tried to make Donna understand.

"Well what do you keep telling me for?" Donna shouted again. "What am I supposed to do?" Her voice was rising. "I'm nothing special. I mean, I'm…I'm not…I'm nothing special. I'm a temp. I'm not even that. I'm nothing." Rose could see that Donna had been itching to get this off her chest for a long time, but she couldn't have Donna thinking that way.

"Donna Noble, you're the most important woman in the whole of creation," Rose said desperately, a smile forming on her face.

Donna let out a huff and a bitter smile pulled at her lips. "Oh, don't. Just don't." the smile disappeared and Rose could see the exhaustion on her face again. "I'm tired." Donna continued. "I'm so. Tired." She turned away.

"I need you to come with me." Rose threw it out there. Donna turned back to look at her and the mocking smile was back on her face.

"Yeah, well. Blond hair might work on the men, but you ain't shifting me, lady." That sounded more like Donna.

"That's more like it," Rose said, smiling slightly.

Donna seemed to pick up on the sentiment as well. "I've got plenty more," she said with a nod, freeing the tears that had built up in her eyes while she'd been shouting.

"But you'll come with me," Rose told her matter of factly. "Only when you want to."

"You'll have a long wait, then." Donna turned away again.

Rose shook her head. "Not really, just three weeks. Tell me, does your grandfather still own that telescope?"

Donna whirled to look at her. Rose knew she was crossing a light, and had to tread lightly.

"He never lets go of it." Donna said, disbelief on her face.

"Three weeks' time." Rose said softly. She started to feel the tingle in her limbs that meant only one thing. "But you've got to be certain. 'Cause when you come with me, Donna, I'm sorry, so sorry, but you're gunna die." She barely had time to finish her sentence before she disappeared.

* * *

"The stars are going out." Rose head Wilf say. It took Donna only a few seconds to turn around and meet her eyes, and Rose's heart swelled when she realized Donna was expecting her to be there.

"I'm ready," Donna said, her voice heavy.

Rose met her eyes, sympathy shinning from them. She said nothing. Together, they walked toward an army truck that waited for them on the road. Rose, seeing the blank look on Donna's face, reached out and gave Donna's hand a reassuring squeeze. When Donna looked at her, she gave Donne a small smile and put her hand back in her pant pocket.

The ride to the military base was silent.

Rose led Donna through the base. They up with a captain, who saluted Rose. Rose held her hands up. "I've told you, don't salute." She told the captain, moving so that she could see the monitors the captain had been observing.

"Well, if you're not going to tell us your name…" The captain said, shooting Donna a look.

"What, you don't know either?" Rose heard Donna asked, surprised.

"I've crossed too many different realities. Trust me, the wrong word in the wrong place can change an entire causal nexus." She explained bleakly, ignoring the other women. "It is awake?" She asked Captain Magambo, feeling as through she were interrupting a conversation but not really caring. She was so close.

"Seems to be quiet today. Ticking over." The captain responded. "Like it's waiting."

Rose felt her heart tighten as she looked at the beaten down TARDIS. "Do you want to see it?" Rose asked Donna, who looked at her like she was losing her mind.

"What's a police box?" Donna asked.

Rose ignored the question. "They salvaged it from underneath the Thames. Just go inside." She urged Donna, hoping the TARDIS might help refresh Donna's memories.

"What for?"

"Just go in," Rose said again, nodding to the old box. She followed Donna as the redhead opened the door, and smiled brightly at the exclamation that came from inside. Donna exited the box, mouth hanging open, and Rose chuckled and Donna made her rounds around the box before going back in. "What do you think?" Rose asked as Donna exited the box, mouth still hanging open.

Someone fetched the coffee Donna asked for, and Rose entered the TARDIS, Donna not far behind.

Rose dragged her hand around the console, looking at the TARDIS with loving eyes. ""Time and relative dimensions in space." She said, smiling at Donna. "This room used to shine with light. I think it's dying." As she caressed the precious corals, the TARDIS hummed briefly, and the rotor tried to move. Rose's heart swelled. "It's still trying to help," She smiled.

"And it belonged to The Doctor?" Donna asked, knowing the answer.

"He was a Time Lord," Rose told her. "Last of his kind." She wondered if Donna could hear the love and reverence in her voice.

"But if he was so special, what was he doing with me?" Donna asked. Rose's heart went out to Donna. She remembered feeling the same way.

"He thought you were brilliant," Rose told her proudly.

"Don't be stupid," Donna interjected.

"But you are," Rose told her with a smile. "It just took The Doctor to show you that, simply by being with him. He did the same to me. To everyone he touches."

"Were you and him…" Donna trailed off. Rose met her eyes but didn't answer. She couldn't. After all, all he'd said was _Rose Tyler…_

They held each other's eyes for a moment, before Rose's attention shifted to the creature she couldn't see on Donna's back. She looked back at Donna's face. "Do you want to see it?"

"No." Donna answered quickly. She paused for a few seconds before changing her mind.

Rose led Donna to the circle of mirrors, where she explained that they would show Donna the creature.

Donna's eyes immediately slammed shut when the lights turned on.

"Open your eyes, Donna," Rose urged.

"Is it there?" Donna asked, and Rose could imagine her fear.

"Open your eyes." She encouraged. "Look at it." Donna shook her head. "It's part of you, Donna. Look." Rose told her gently.

Slowly, Donna opened her eyes. When she caught sight of the beetle-like creature, she began to panic. "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay." Rose said quickly, "Calm down." Donna continued to panic, her eyes wide with fright. "Donna! Donna! Donna!" Rose called to her. Donna stopped and their eyes met. "Okay." Rose said, her hands out, wishing she could help Donna.

"What is it?" Donna asked, her posture stiff and frightened.

"We don't know." Rose told her regretfully.

"Oh, thanks," Donna was sarcastic.

"It feeds off time," Rose explained to the frightened woman. "By changing time, by making someone's life take a different turn." Rose chuckled inwardly at the pun only she understood. "Like meetings never made, children never born, a life never loved…but you, it's…"

"But I never did anything important." Donna shouted desperately.

"Yeah you did," Rose replied. "One day, that think made you turn right instead of left."

"When was that?" Donna asked, her voice wavering.

"You wouldn't remember." Rose explained. "It was the most ordinary day in the world. But by turning right, you never met The Doctor and the world just changed around you."

"Can you get rid of it?" Donna asked, calmer than before but still afraid.

"I can't even touch it." Rose told her, shaking her head slightly. "Seems to be in a state of flux."

"What does that mean?" Donna asked, now shaking visibly.

"I don't know." Rose said, "Sort of thing The Doctor would say." She tried with a laugh.

"_You liar!" _Donna shouted angrily. "You told me I was special! But it's not me! It's this _thing_! I'm just a host!"

"No, there's more than that," Rose said quietly, hoping her calm tone would help relax Donna. "The readings are strange. It's like reality is just bending around you." That was exactly what it was doing.

"Because of this thing!" Donna shouted back.

"No, no, we're getting separate readings from you." Rose told her, still trying to calm her down. "And they've always been there, since the day you were born."

"This is not relevant to the mission." Captain Magambo told her quietly, but Rose ignored her, focusing all her attention on Donna.

"I thought it was just The Doctor we needed, but it's both of you." Rose said, half talking to herself. "The Doctor and Donna Noble, together." She saw tears in Donna's eyes. "To stop the stars from going out."

"Why?" Donna was till shouting. "What can I do?" Rose didn't answer. She glanced at the creature still on her back. "Turn it off. Please."

Rose whirled to face the captain. "Captain." See said, glancing at the monitor. Magambo told the men who looked like scientists to power down the machine. When they did, Rose entered the dark circle of mirrors, holding Donna's arms for support.

"It's still there, thought." Donna asked Rose quietly. Rose nodded, keeping their eyes locked. "What can I do to get rid of it?" Donna asked.

"You're gunna travel in time," Rose told her with a smile.

* * *

They kept a tight eye on Donna as she ran to catch up with herself. Rose's heart was pounding heavily in her chest. This was it. This was her chance to save The Doctor and all the universes.

She winced when Donna plunged in front of the truck, getting hit.

Using her watch, she messaged her Torchwood team to send her to the Donna signal, and within a second she was approaching Donna, who was lying on the concrete. She leaned in. "Tell him this. Two words."

Rose's heart tightened as she watched Donna's eyes close, but she knew that she had actually just saved Donna. And The Doctor.

She returned to her wrong universe, receiving congratulations from everyone in the room. They watched the pocket universe disappear, and Rose smiled widely when The Doctor's trace was spotted in the correct universe, alive and well.

* * *

"I can't remember," Donna told The Doctor as he pocked and prodded at the strange beetle like creature, which seemed to be dead. "It's slipping away. You know, like when you try to think of a dream and it just sort of goes."

"Just got lucky, this thing. It's one of the Trickster's Brigade." The Doctor told her, It changes a life in tiny little ways. Most of the time the universe just compensates around it, but with you…" The Doctor smiled at Donna, "great big parallel world."

Donna smiled briefly before it turned to a frown. "Hold on, you said parallel worlds were sealed off."

"They are," The Doctor explained. "But you have one created around you. Funny thing is, seems to be happening a lot. To you."

"How do you mean?" Donna asked, confused.

"Well, the library and then this."

"Just goes with the job, I suppose," Donna said, trying to brush the incident aside. She tried to laugh, but The Doctor looked at her with serious eyes.

"Sometimes I think there's way too much coincidence around you, Donna. I met you once, then I met your grandfather, then I met you again. In the whole wide universe, I met you for a second time." He thought of the other girl he'd met a second time. "It's like there's something binding us together."

Donna chuckled. "Don't be so daft. I'm nothing special."

"Yes, you are, you're brilliant." The Doctor assured her, fondness in his voice.

Donna smiled at him, then remembered. "She said that."

"Who did?"

"That woman." Donna tried to remember more. "I can't remember." She said quietly.

"Well, she never existed now." The Doctor told her kindly.

"No, but she said the stars…she said the stars are going out." Donne remembered, The Doctor's eyes boring into hers.

"Yeah, but that world's gone." The Doctor tried again.

"No, but she said it was all worlds." Donna argued. "Every world. She said the darkness is coming. Even here."

"Who was she?" The Doctor asked, his expression intense.

"I don't know."

"What did she look like?" Could it be…there was no way. It was impossible.

"She was…" Donna tried to picture the woman who'd never given a name. "Blonde."

The Doctor was starting to look crazed and a little panicked. "What was her name?" He demanded, trying to sound patient.

"I don't know." Donna told him apologetically.

"Donna, what was her name?" The Doctor demanded again.

Donna pictured the woman leaning in when she'd been lying on the concrete road. "But she told me to warn you." She looked into The Doctor's scared face. "She said, 'two words'."

"What too words? What were they? What did she say?" The Doctor's eyes were wide with fear and something else.

"Bad wolf."

The Doctor's eyebrows shot up and he began to shake, and his breathing sped up. "What does it mean?" Donna asked, but he didn't answer. He shot up and ran out of the room.

In another world, the use of her title glowed in her mind. Rose, having expected this, had been sitting in her office, waiting, too afraid to go home.

Her vision began to blur and go gold, and her skin heated up and began to glow as well. She could feel the power of her name affecting Donna's surroundings, and watched her Doctor ran through the curtains into the street. She could feel his hearts pounding, and could see his wide eyes seeing her name everywhere.

She watched him run into his TARDIS, where he was greeted with a glowing red console room. The TARDIS, turned paradox machine, was struggling to keep her presence in the two universes as the same person and of the same mind.

She heard Donna, "Doctor, what is it? What's bad wolf?"

She could hear The Doctor's breathing speed up as well as she could hear the cloister bell ringing in the TARDIS.

"It's the end of the universe." The Doctor replied.

He had no idea.

_All that is, all that was, all that ever could be._


	8. Chapter 8: Dalek

**Um...Hi. Still alive!**

"Agent Tyler," a young Torchwood agent whose name was on the tip of Rose's tongue distracted her from the screen she was sharing with Richard Paler, searching for gravitational space corridors linking their own universe and the one holding The Doctor.

She straightened from her position (which had been leaning over Paler's shoulder), feeling her back pop, making her wince. "Agent?" She groaned, trying to smile but feeling it turn into a grimace.

"Sorry to bother you, but I believe we've got a lock on the TARDIS." The agent continued, his face a strange mix of proud and sheepish.

Rose's eye widened, her backache forgotten, and Paler whirled in his desk chair, his expression quite similar to Rose's.

"Show me," Rose demanded, following the agent to his station, Paler on her heels.

* * *

"_Shit_," Rose slammed her fist against the desk, biting her lip in frustration in attempt to prevent more curse words from spilling out. She couldn't believe that after all their work, their sleepless nights, and the incredible amount of tea and coffee they'd gone through, they'd failed.

"Language," Paler muttered, ignoring Rose's answering glare. She was allowed to swear at a time like this, thank you very much. She didn't understand how he was so calm and collected, when she was damn near ready to explode.

"Whatever's been happening across the universes has just happened to the one we're tracking," Doctor White stated, also receiving a glare from a pacing Rose. "The starts have gone out and the planet is gone."

"We don't know where it is," Paler whispered, "we can't send her now."

Rose halted in her steps. "You can and you will. Send me." Paler and White exchanged a nervous glance, unwilling to send Rose hurtling through the walls of the universe without seeing the destination. "Come one," Rose rolled her eyes, "we did this all the time before we locked on. Send me!" She wasn't about to let all their work be for nothing. She would find the Doctor. It wasn't not like the cannon was locked onto earth, anyway. It was locked onto the _TARDIS_. It shouldn't matter that earth was gone.

Or so she was stubbornly telling herself.

"Holy fu-," An agent on the other side of the room blurted out, cutting herself off before she swore, but still catching the attention of everyone in the lab. She pointed to her screen. Rose's eyes widened when she saw the familiar shape of the culprits.

She didn't waste any time. A chaotic flurry of movement filled the lab, doctors and scientists shouting at each other, and Rose shouting at damn well any one who would listen. Even in the turmoil, Rose was ready to go in the next seven minutes.

She was equipped with her usual clothes – the blue leather jacket, pink t-shirt, and black trousers, and given one extra piece; a rather large, Dalek-killing gun. She nodded to Paler and his fellow doctors, watching them press a sequence of buttons and feeling the familiar tingle in her fingers and toes. She blinked, and when she opened her eyes, she was standing in the middle of a dark street, being stared at by an obviously confused milkman.

Her gaze lifted to the sky, catching sight of the completely wrong sky. "Right, now we're in trouble," she cocked her gun, feeling it charge up, "and it's only just beginning." When had she begun talking to herself?

* * *

The gun stayed strapped over her shoulder and she walked calmly down the familiar streets of London, her face grim as she watched people run in every direction.

Car alarms caught her attention and she turned to find two boys stealing from an abandoned telly shop. With a sigh, she made her way over.

"Right." She huffed, "You two, you can put that stuff down or run for your lives," she cocked the gun. "Do you like my gun?" She asked airily. When they'd run off in fear, she sat in front of a monitor, seeing an image of the ships surrounding earth, obviously somehow sent from her Torchwood.

When she exited the shop, she saw a Dalek ship flying low, shooting aimlessly at her planet. Her resolve hardened and she headed to find the people she needed.

Rose watched in horror from afar as a man argued with the Daleks, sending his wife and child back into their house, to their certain death. She couldn't take on several Daleks, she knew, she couldn't help them.

"HALT. YOU WI-LL CO-ME WITH ME." The broken voice of a Dalek said from not far. Quietly, she tracked the tin can, finding it face to eyestalk with just the people she needed. The Nobles. She ignored the rest of its speech, shooting it and blowing up its head with a twisted sense of satisfaction.

"Wanna swamp?" The older Noble suggested, holding up what looked like a paintball gun. Rose felt pride swell up in her heart at a human's bravery.

"You're Donna Noble's family, right?" Rose confirmed. They nodded, eyes wide. "I'm Rose Tyler, and I need you." She wasn't able to provide more information to them, for which she was sorry, but she saw no disagreement when they took off with her, away from the streets and from the Daleks, to the temporary safety or their home.

* * *

Rose felt bile rise up in her throat when she couldn't connect to Harriet Jones' sub-wave network. She could help find the Doctor. She'd come this far, she could din the Doctor. She saw Jack, Sarah-Jane and Harriet, and felt more pride at human resistance.

She dialed The Doctor's number, praying for him to _hear her. _She'd made it this far, he could do a little work too.

A painfully familiar face appeared on the subwave network. Each of the Doctor's companions talked at once. She forced her eyes not to swell with tears, and to not shout in frustration at having him so close but being unable to reach him..

"Doctor, it's me. I came back."

* * *

She was gone from the Nobles' home in a flash, Torchwood locking her onto the TARDIS. Now that she knew that the Doctor was still accessible from her position, not thrown out of the Moment of events (although, obviously, he might have been, but stayed in enough denial and been so full of himself that he'd found a way out), she was going to get him.

When she landed, she saw two familiar faces in intense discussion. The Doctor turned, catching her eye. A smile grew on her face as her mouth popped open in shock, but turned quickly into a wide grin.

_Finally._

He began to run and she met his pace. They were running to each other, and though she felt like she was in some cheesy romantic comedy, she found she didn't care so long as it was the Doctor she was running to.

She saw the Dalek too late.

She ran to where The Doctor had fallen, falling to her knees and holding his head with her hands, feeling his soft hair through her fingers.

No.

She'd just found him. The universe could not be so cruel as to take him away from her when _she'd just found him_.

"I've got you. I missed you," She smiled tearfully, willing her hands not to shake. "Look, it's me, Doctor."

He smiled weakly. "Rose," he breathed, his voice shaking with pain and his face contorting.

"Right," she nodded.

"Long time no see," he gasped out through what she could only guess was an incredible amount of pain.

"Yeah, well, been…busy, you know." She said, trying to keep conversation light. He gasped, and she held him tighter. "Don't die. No, don't die. My god, don't die!" _I just got you back!_

Donna and…was that _Jack?_ Finally met them. "Get him into the TARDIS, quick!" Jack ordered in his no-nonsense tone. "Move!" The three of them grabbed hold of The Doctor and dragged him into his time machine.

"What do we do?" Donna asked, frantically looking between Rose and Jack, both of whom looked like they'd given up. "There must be some medicine or something!" Rose bitterly sympathized with how Donna felt – she remembered feeling oh so very out of the loop, confused, and desperate to do anything to help.

"Just step back," Jack said quietly but firmly. He placed his gun on the jump seat, turning and seeing both women kneeling over The Doctor. "Just step back," he continued, speaking to the one who would understand what was happening. "Rose, do as I say and get back!" he walked over to her. "He's dying, and you know what happens next." Rose knew in the back of her mind that Jack was right – she should stay back, she should get out of the way of the regeneration energy. But all she could think was that she'd just found her Doctor and now he was leaving her again. Not on purpose, obviously, but it never was with him.

"What do you mean?" Donna demanded, looking at Jack. Rose ignored them, ignored Donna's cries and Jack's confident orders.

"He can't," Rose sobbed, staying by his side. "Not now. I came all this way."

"What do you mean? Donna demanded again. "What happens next?"

The Doctor held up his hand and Rose saw a familiar ripple of gold slid under his skin. "It's starting," he whispered as his hand began to glow brighter.

"Here we go!" Jack was no longer giving Rose a say in the matter. To her annoyance, he ran over and picked her up and dragged her away from the ailing Doctor. "Good luck, Doctor!"

"Will someone please tell me what is going on?" Donna shouted as The Doctor used to console to pull himself to his feet.

"When he'd dying, his body…it repairs itself…it changes." Rose explained through her sobs. "But you can't," She said to The Doctor. _Please don't!_

"I'm sorry," The Doctor told her quietly, gasping for breath. "It's too late. I'm regenerating."


	9. Chapter 9: DoctorDonna

**The longest chapter I've ever written. Not a huge fan myself, because, while I needed it for the progression of the story, this chapter is essentially just the entire episode called _Journey's End._**

Rose felt Jack's hands on her arms, wrapping around her tightly and pulling her away from the Doctor. She could feel him starting to burn under her touch, see the gold emanate from him in a familiar yet frightening way.

The last time the Doctor had regenerated, she'd been young, new to the whole process, afraid. She hadn't known what was happening. Not far from her, she could feel Donna panicking, clueless as to what would happen next. Rose remembered the feeling.

This time, she did know, and she wasn't alone. Jack kept both women enveloped tightly in his strong arms, shielding his own eyes from the bursts of gold that were coming from the Doctor. Rose realized then that it didn't matter that she knew what was happening. It was just as frightening, just as heartbreaking.

So, when the glowing stopped and a Doctor with a very much the same face gasped for air, Rose could do nothing but blink. She looked up to see Jack reacting much the same way.

He blew (from what Rose could tell) excess regeneration energy from …was that his hand? "You see?" He said cheerfully, "used the regeneration energy to heal myself, but as soon as that was done, I didn't need to change. I didn't want to. Why would I? Look at me." Rose smiled a bit. "So, to stop the energy from going all the way, I siphoned off the rest into a handy bio-matching receptacle. Namely, my hand. That hand there. My handy spare hand," he continued with a cheeky grin. He stood up, and Rose could feel his eyes on her, if wavering only slightly, but she kept her gaze directed toward the hand. "Remember? Christmas day, Sycorax? Lost my hand in a sword fight. That's my hand." Rose lifted her eyes to meet his, which were staring quite intently at her. "What do you think?"

She stepped out of Jack's grip, which she'd only just realized was still there, towards the Doctor with an uncertainty she'd never expected to feel. She could feel Donna's eyes on her back, and almost sense the smirk that was inevitably growing on Captain Jack's face. "You're still you?" She asked him, angry with herself for feeling so relieved, but relieved all the same.

A small smile grew on the Doctor's lips as he looked at her, following her every movement quite intently. He seemed unsure as she continued to move much to hesitantly for her own liking. Rose felt tears prick at her eyes and she threw herself forward, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and letting their cheeks graze as she hugged him tightly. His hug was warm and familiar, and he smelt as he always did, with the distinct sense of timelessness hanging around him. It was so familiar, felt so much like home, that Rose felt herself choking back tears as a smile pulled at her lips. She could feel his own relief; even feel the smile that he wore, as she hugged him tightly. She wasn't sure how long she stayed in his arms, but his grip never loosened, and neither did hers.

* * *

"There's a massive Dalek ship at the centre of the planets," Jack explained. "They're calling it the Crucible. Guess that's our destination."

"You said these planets were like an engine. But what for?" Donna asked the Doctor.

Rose turned to look at him, and was taken aback by the sullen look on his face. He looked…angry. And confused. Then, quite suddenly, he turned to her, anger disappearing from his face, changing to hopeful. "Rose!" She jumped at the mention of her name. "You've been in a parallel world. That world's running ahead of this universe. You've seen the future, what was it?"

Rose hesitated. She could feel Donna's and Jack's eyes on her back, watching her, hungry for answers. "It's the darkness," she finally replied quietly.

"The stars were going out." Donna realized behind her.

Rose didn't look back. "One by one." The hope was gone from the Doctor's face, and he suddenly looked quite ancient. The empty sadness growing in his eyes made her chest ache with pain. "We looked up at the sky, and they were just dying." She took a breath. "Basically, we've been building this…um…travel machine, this…uh…dimension cannon…so I could…well, so I could…" she didn't dare say the words. She saw his face change from weary to something else.

"What?" the Doctor said quietly, his usually warm brown eyes boring into hers.

"So I could come back," Rose forced back a grin, which was nearly impossible when he looked at her as he did, with a bright grin and pride. "Shut up," she told him, though the grin only seemed to widen. "Anyway, suddenly it started to work. And the dimensions started to collapse." There went the hope again, fear starting to become evident. "Not just in our world, not just in yours, but the whole of reality. Even the void was dead. Some thing is…destroying everything."

"In that parallel world…you said something about me," Donna said, the woman being unusually quiet.

Rose met her eyes. "The dimension cannon could measure timelines, and it's…it's weird Donna, but they all seem to converge on you."

* * *

Rose held the Doctor's hand as they watched the TARDIS be eaten in the z-neutrino energy, feeling bile rise in her throat as she thought of the brilliant time machine and Donna be destroyed and killed. She knew that though the Doctor was clutching her hand like a lifeline, as though she were only thing holding him steady, she knew that he hardly knew she was there, too caught up in the pain of losing his TARDIS and his friend. She could feel some of his pain through a mental link, her telepathy not strong enough to feel much of it.

She turned in shock when she heard a gun go off, her eyes immediately flying to where Jack had been standing, now crumpled on the ground. The Doctor gripped her waist tightly as she recoiled from the blast of the Dalek's shot. When he was down, the Doctor released her and she fell to her friend's side. Not seconds later, she felt the Doctor kneel beside her, "Rose, come on." An arm went around her waist again, "come here." He whispered.

"They killed him," she wanted to sound angry, but she sounded weak and sad, and she hated herself for it almost as much as she hated the Daleks.

"I know," he whispered again. "I'm sorry. There's nothing we can do." She let the Doctor lead her away from her fallen friend, not sure where the surrounding Daleks were taking them, but knowing she had no choice but to follow.

* * *

"Activate the holding cells." An old, warbled voice broke through the darkness. A bright light shone over the Doctor, then her, and a sort of half-Dalek form rolled out of the shadows. "Even when powerless, a Time Lord is best contained." He said with what sounded like distain to Rose, though she knew a true Dalek would never let any emotion like that show. Though, she supposed, if a Dalek were to have emotions, it would certainly have distain.

"Still scared of me, then?" The Doctor asked, anger so well hidden in his tone that Rose wondered if the Dalek-thing even heard it. She watched as he pressed his hand to the edge of the light and a sort of…energy…rippled around it. Curious, she repeated the action.

"It is time we talked, Doctor, after so very long." The thing said, rolling away.

"No, no, no, no, no." The Doctor interrupted, seemingly annoyed now. "We're not dong the nostalgia tour. I want to know what's happening right here, right now. 'Cause, the supreme Dalek said 'vault', yeah?" Is that what it'd said, Rose wondered idly. She hadn't been paying attention. "…As in dungeon, cellar, prison." The Doctor rotated on the spot in his cell, taking in their surroundings as Rose watched him closely. "You're not in charge of the Daleks, are you? They've got you locked away down here in the basement, like, what, a servant? Slave? Court jester?"

"We have…" the Dalek-thing started angrily, "…an arrangement." He finished with much less force. Rose raised her eyebrows at its response, looking carefully between it and the Doctor.

"No, no, no, no, no." The Doctor said again, laughing this time as he spoke. "I've got the word. You're the Daleks' pet!"

"So very full of fire, is he not?" the thing demanded, now rolling towards her. "And to think, you crossed entire universes, striding parallel to parallel, to find him again." Rose felt bile rise in her throat as he spoke, suddenly very much wanted to punch him in the face.

"Leave her alone." The Doctor said, his voice dropping several octaves.

"She is mine, to do as I please." Rose felt her skin crawl at the Dalek-thing's response.

"Then why am I still alive?" Rose demanded of him, standing rigidly, proudly.

"You must be here." He replied. "It was foretold. Even the supreme Dalek would not dare to contradict the prophecies of Dalek Caan." The thing pressed a button and suddenly illuminated was a Dalek.

Rose wanted to recoil in shock. She had met Dalek Caan before, she remembered. One of the Cult of Skaro. She never believed she would see any Dalek as she was seeing now, completely exposed and out of his metal caging. "So cold and dark," it said, moving its…tentacles…? "Fire is coming. The endless flames."

"It flew into the time war, unprotected." The Doctor told her, his face taught with anger.

"Caan did more than that." Continued the Dalek-thing. "He saw _time_. Its infinite complexity and majesty raging through his mind. And he saw you – both of you."

"This, I have foreseen in the wild and the wind. The Doctor will be here, as witness, at the end of everything. The Doctor and his precious children of time. And one of them will die." Caan laughed madly. Rose's mind repelled the idea of a Dalek who could laugh, who had some sort of emotion.

Rose watched attentively as the Dalek-thing taunted her Doctor, anger building in her belly as he spoke. She watched him panic when the thing – Davros – told him what was happening, as the planets aligned. She stayed put, keeping her face steady as he screamed, though it went against her whole being.

"Doctor, what happened?" She asked him.

"Electrical energy, Miss Tyler." Davros answered instead. "Every atom in existence is bound by an electrical field. The reality bomb cancels it out. Structure falls apart. That test was focused on the prisoners alone. Full transmission will dissolve every form of matter." Rose felt her mouth fall open as she turned her wide eyes to the screen.

"Stars going out." She murmured, understanding, finally, the horror of what was happening.

"The 27 planets, they become one vast transmitter," the Doctor said, seething with anger, "blasting that wavelength…"

"Across the entire universe…never stopping, never faltering, never fading. People and planets and stars will become dust, and the dust will become atoms, and the atoms will become…nothing. And the wavelength will continue, breaking through the rift at the heart of the Medusa Cascade, into every dimension, every parallel, every single corner of creation. This is my ultimate victory, Doctor. The destruction of reality itself!"

"_This is Martha Jones, representing the Unified Intelligence Task Force on behalf of the human race. This message is for the Dalek Crucible. Repeat – can you hear me?"_ Rose remembered the face and voice from the videochat where Harriet Jones had urged them all to find the Doctor, giving her life for the cause. She felt her heart squeeze as she thought of the fantastic woman.

"Put me through!" The Doctor shouted to Davros, bringing Rose back to the present.

"It begins, as Dalek Caan foretold." Davros cackled excitedly.

"His children of time will gather. And one of them will die." The exposed Caan laughed, making Rose's skin crawl once again.

"Stop _saying_ that! Put me through!" The Doctor said angrily.

"_Doctor! I'm sorry. I had to." _

"Oh, but the Doctor is powerless." Davros said. "My prisoner. State your intent."

"_I've got the Oterhagen Key. Leave this planet and its people alone or I'll use it." _

"Osterhagen what?" The Doctor interrupted. "What's an Osterhagen Key?"

"_There's a chain of 25 nuclear warheads placed in strategic points beneath the earth's crust. If I use the key, they detonate, and the earth gets ripped apart."_

"What? Who invented that? Well, someone called Osterhagen, I suppose. Martha, are you insane?"

Though Rose understood the Doctor's reaction – he was very non-violence, non-blowing-earth-up, and he'd given everything he had to make sure the earth stayed safe, she couldn't help but admire Martha. Threatening the Daleks was bold, but anyone's standards.

"_The Osterhagen Key is to be used if they suffering of the human race is so great, so without hope, that this becomes the final option." _

"That's never an option," The Doctor told her angrily.

"_Don't argue with me, Doctor! 'Cause it's more than that. Now, I reckon the Daleks need these 27 planets for something, but," _she held up the key,_ "What if it becomes 26?" What happens then? Daleks? Would you risk it?"_

"Oh, she'd good," Rose murmured appreciatively, ignorant the angry and disbelieving look the Doctor gave her.

"_Who's that?"_

"My name's Rose. Rose Tyler." Rose introduced herself to this Martha girl.

She watched the shock explode on the other girl's face. "_Oh my god. He found you." _She whispered. Rose felt unwanted happiness warm her core. She'd not been forgotten. Other companions knew who she was. The Doctor had not dropped her off and moved on, as she'd both feared and hoped he would.

A second screen popped up. _"Captain Jack Harkness, calling all Dalek Boys and Girls. Are you receiving me? Don't send in your goons or I'll set this thing off."_

Rose thought her jaw might hit the ground. "He's still alive." More faces came into sight. "Oh, my god, that – that's my mum! And Mickey!" But she'd _seen_ Jack get beamed…she didn't understand, much less that her mother and Mickey were there.

"Captain, what are you doing?" The Doctor demanded.

"_I've got a warp star wired into the mainframe. I break this shell, the entire crucible goes up."_

"You can't! Where did you get a warp star?" The Doctor cried in shock.

"_From me." _Sarah Jane! _"We had no choice! We saw what happened to the prisoners."_

As Sarah Jane and Davros spoke to each other, Rose snuck a look at the Doctor, surprised to see tears barely forming in his eyes and disbelief written across his features rather than pride or happiness.

"Now, that's what I call a ransom," she said cheekily, hoping to lighten the Doctor's mood and get him to realize that his friends, his family, were fighting for him and for the entirety of the human race.

But he continued to look sullen, standing with his shoulders hunched and his eyes down.

"Doctor?"

"And the prophecy unfolds." Davros said, amusement at the Doctor's pain evident in his tone.

"The Doctor's soul is revealed," Caan said again, laughing maniacally. "See him. See the heart of him."

"The man who abhors violence, never carrying a gun. But this is the truth, Doctor. You take ordinary people and you fashion them into weapons. Behold your children of time, transformed into murderers." Rose tried to get the Doctor to meet her eyes, to look at her, but he kept looking downwards, away from all his companions. "I made the Daleks, Doctor. You made this."

"They're trying to help." The Doctor whispered, as though he couldn't quite convince himself of the truth. Rose understood what he was realizing – that because of him, his friends had become defenders of the universe, and in the process they'd needed to resort to violence.

"Already I have seen them sacrifice today for their beloved Doctor." Davros continued to taunt. "The earth woman who fell, opening the subwave network."

"Who was that," The Doctor asked, genuine confusion crossing his face.

"Harriet Jones." Rose replied quietly, hating the look of horror and shock on his beautiful features. "She gave her life to get you here." Rose, too, felt the loss of the brilliant woman, deep within her core. She watched as the Doctor was forced to recall everyone who had ever died in his name, watching his friends die to save him, watching anyone who was affected by his presence.

* * *

Rose watched in horror as every one of her friends and her mother were locked into cells like hers. She wanted to avert her eyes as the Daleks detonated the reality bomb, but couldn't bring herself to look away from the horror before her.

A humming began to sing in her mind, and the most wonderous sound she'd heard got louder as the TARDIS – the brilliant, amazing TARDIS – landed not 20 feet from her. The door opened to reveal a glowing interior and a man in a suit, carrying some form of gun.

"Brilliant." Captain Jack breathed, talking to no one in particular.

The second Doctor ran at Davros but was shocked, the weapon falling from his hands.

And then Donna.

Rose flinched as Donna was thrown back, eyes wide.

"How come there are two of you?" She asked, ignoring Davros' taunts.

"Human biological metacrisis. Never mind that, now we've got no way of stopping the reality bomb."

8 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1…

Rose waited for the end of the world.

Alarms went off.

"And…closing all z-neutrino relay loops," a calm voice spoke, "using an internalized, synchronous backfeed reversal loop – " Donna clicked a button. "That button there." She grinned cheekily as everyone stared at her.

"Donna, you can't even change a plug." The brown-suited Doctor said in disbelief. Rose was inclined to side with him. She knew that Donna was a brilliant woman, and respected her very much, but Donna was…technology impaired.

"You wanna bet, time boy?" Donna replied, her voice airy and cheerful.

"You'll suffer for this," Davros interrupted angrily. He stuck his hand out to zap her with the electrical …whatever it was, but Donna simply smirked and cranked a lever. Rather than extending to hit her, Davros screamed as the shock seemed to go into him instead. Rose watched in disbelief, her wide eyes on the smiling Donna.

"Oh, bioelectric dampening field with a retrogressive arc inversion." Donna said calmly.

"Exterminate her!" Davros yelled to the Daleks, who followed suit with their cries of extermination.

Donna began to press buttons as though she were typing on a computer. The Dalek weapons ceased working. "Oh, macrotransmission of a k-filter wavelength blocking Dalek weaponry in a self replicating energy blindfold matrix."

"How did you work that out?" The original Doctor asked desperately, "you're…"

"Time lord." The blue-suited Doctor interrupted, understanding suddenly. "Part Time Lord..."

"Part human," Donna finished. "Oh yes. That was a two-way biological metacrisis. Half Doctor, half Donna."

"The DoctorDonna," The original Doctor breathed. "Just like the Ood said, remember? They saw it coming. The DoctorDonna."

Donna smiled at him before pressing more buttons. "Holding cells deactivated. Unseal the vault. Well, don't just stand there, you skinny boys in suits. Get to work."

As Donna continued to mess with the Dalek systems, Rose joined Sarah Jane in pushing away a spinning Dalek. She couldn't help but grin at the scene before her, the Daleks helplessly spinning. Mickey and Jack grabbed Dalek guns from the TARDIS, holding them toward Davros.

Together, the two Doctors and Donna sent home planet after moon after planet.

"Is anyone gunna tell us what's going on?" Rose asked calmly, though really she was quite desperate to understand.

"He poured all his regeneration energy into his spare hand," Donna explained, pointing at the original Doctor. "I touched the hand, and he grew out of that," she indicated the blue-suited Doctor, "but that fed back into me. But it just stayed dormant in my head till the synapses got that little extra spark, kicking them into life – thank you, Davros! Part human, part Time Lord. And I got the best bit of the Doctor," Rose resisted laughing when she saw the blue-suited Doctor raise his eyebrows, a smirk on his face, "I got his mind."

"So there's three of you?" Sarah Jane interrupted.

"_Three_ Doctors?" Rose repeated.

"I can't tell you what I'm thinking right now," Jack muttered.

"You're so unique, the timelines were converging on you – human being with a Time Lord brain." The brown-suited Doctor explained to Donna. The three of them continued to work on machinery, and Rose knew she wouldn't be of any help.

When the original Doctor was working in the TARDIS, Caan spoke again, this time to the metacrisis. "I have seen the end of everything Dalek, and you must make it happen, Doctor." Caan said to him, his voice just as cheerful as before, which was still quite strange for a Dalek in itself, but even more so now that he was dying.

"He's right," the blue-suited Doctor said quietly, "'Cause with or without the reality bomb, this Dalek Empire's big enough to slaughter the Cosmos. They've got to be stopped."

Rose didn't understand what the Doctor is, but suddenly the ship was shaking as Daleks began to explode.

"What have you done?!" The brown-suited Doctor yelled angrily, his eyes on his other self.

"Fulfilling the prophecy," The Doctor in blue replied, his voice carrying over the explosions even though he did not speak loudly.

"Do you know what you've done?" The original Doctor shouted angrily. "Now, get in the TARDIS!"

The blue-suited Doctor looked angrily at his twin but ran to the TARDIS, following instructions anyway. Everyone ran into the ship, to safety.

They all stood around the rotor, holding on for support.

" But what about the earth?" Sarah Jane demanded as they took off. "It's stuck in the wrong part of space!"

"I'm on it!" The original Doctor replied, swinging the monitor around so he could see the screen. Rose leaned in to see as well. "Torchwood hub, this is the Doctor. Are you receiving me?"

"Loud and clear," two figures Rose didn't recognize popped onto the screen. "Is Jack there?" one of the two, the woman, asked. Rose squinted at her. Had they met?

"Can't get rid of him," the Doctor responded with a smirk, making Jack smile. "Jack, what's her name?"

"Gwen Cooper," Jack responded, a grin on his face.

"Tell me, Gwen Cooper, are you from an old Cardiff family?"

It suddenly clicked in Rose's mind where she knew the woman from, and a grin broke out on her face.

"Yes," Gwen replied. "All the way back to the 1800s."

"Ah, though so, spatial genetic multiplicity." Rose and the Doctor shared a bright smile. "Now, Torchwood, I want you to open up that rift manipulator. Send all the power to me."

"Doing it now, sir." A man's head popped came into view briefly.

"What's that for?" Rose asked the Doctor.

"It's a towrope." The Doctor explained. "Now then, Sarah, what was your son's name?"

"Luke! He's called Luke! And the computer is Mister Smith!."

"Calling Luke and Mister Smith!." The Doctor spoke to the computer, and the screen split into two, like a videochat with several people. "This is the Doctor. Come on, Luke, shake a leg!"

A young boy came into view, "is mum there?" He asked urgently, and Rose smiled at the boy.

"Oh, she's fine and dandy," The Doctor told him over Sarah Jane's cries of joy. "Now Mister Smith, I want you to harness the rift power and loop it around the TARDIS, you got that?"

"I regret, I will need remote access to TARDIS basecode numerals." The computer answered, somehow sounded remorseful.

The Doctor frowned. "Oh, blimey, that's going to take a while."

"No, no, no!" Sarah Jane came over to join them. "Let me! She joined the Doctor in front of the monitor. "K-9, Out you come!."

"Affirmative, mistress." The little voice made Rose laugh from pure joy.

"Oh, good dog!" The Doctor shouted cheerfully. "K-9, give Mister Smith the basecode."

"Master, TARDIS basecode now being transferred. The process is simple."

"Now then," The brown-suited Doctor gave everyone a task (except Jackie) on the TARDIS console. When he finally flicked a final switch, the TARDIS began to move rather slowly, each person helping to hold it steady. They all grinned cheerful at each other as they helped to pilot the alien space-and-time ship, and quite literally pulled earth to its correct position in the sky.

They cheered enthusiastically once the Earth was finally in the right place, and hugs went around the TARDIS quickly.

* * *

The Doctor dropped everyone off to their proper timelines and homes, except Mickey, who took off with Martha and Jack, saying goodbye to many of his companions for the final time.

As Rose exited the TARDIS, stepping into the wet sand of Bad Wolf Bay, she felt her heart drop.

"Hold on. This is…the parallel universe, right?"

"You're back home."

"And the walls of the world are closing again, now that the reality bomb never happened, it's dimensional retroclosure." Donna explained. "See, I really get this stuff now," she finished with a shrug.

"No, but I spent all that time trying to find you. I'm not going back now." Rose argued.

The original Doctor stepped towards her, "but you've got to. 'Cause we saved the universe, but at a cost. And the cost is him." He nodded to the blue-suited Doctor. "He destroyed the Daleks. He committed genocide. He's too dangerous to be left on his own."

"You made me," the metacrisis replied angrily.

"Exactly," the Doctor said, "You were born in battle, full of blood, and anger, and revenge." He turned his gaze to Rose. "Remind you of someone?" She said nothing, but looked away from him. "That's me, when we first met. And you made me better." Rose felt angry tears prick at her eyes now that she knew for sure she was being left behind.

Again.

"Now you can do the same for him." The Doctor finished.

"But he's not you," Rose forced sobs away.

"He needs you. That's very me." The Doctor admitted.

"But it's better than that, though." Donna interrupted. "Can't you see what he's giving you? Tell her, go on."

Rose turned to look at the blue-suited Doctor, the perfect replica of the man she loved. "I look like him I think like him. Same memories, same thoughts, same everything. Except I've only got one heart."

"Which means?" Rose didn't dare hope – after everything that had happened to her, she couldn't allow herself to.

"I'm part human – specifically the aging part. I'll grow old and never regenerate. I've only got one life, Rose Tyler. I could spend it with you…if you want."

"You'll grow old at the same time as me?" Rose repeated.

"Together," the blue-suited Doctor told her, his eyes locked on hers. Nervously, not quite believing it, Rose stepped towards him, her hand reaching out to his chest, where she rested it lightly, feeling the single heartbeat beneath her palm.

The TARDIS engine _whooshed_, pulling her from the moment.

"We gotta go," the original Doctor said. "This reality's sealing itself off – forever." He and Donna turned to the TARDIS.

"But – " Rose chased after them. "It's still not right." The Doctor turned to look at her, sadness hardening his face. "Cause…the Doctor's…still you."

"And I'm him," he replied.

"All right," Rose said with sudden determination. "Both of you, answer me this." Both Doctors came to stand at her side. "When I last stoof on this beach, on the worst day of my life, what was the last thing you said to me?" She looked desperately at the Doctor in brown. "Go on, say it."

The original Doctor answered, "I said, 'Rose Tyler…'"

"Yeah," Rose replied, "And how was that sentence going to end?"

The Doctor looked at her, his eyes starting to redden with withheld tears, his face determinedly stoic. "Does it need saying?"

Rose held his gaze for several seconds before turning to the blue-suited Doctor. "And you, Doctor? What was the end of that sentence?"

The Doctor leaned towards her, brushing her arm with his hand, leaning in close to whisper the words in her ear. "_I love you,"_ he breathed to her, the emotion of a thousand years coming through, the pain, the joy, the excitement, and the fear of hundreds of years resonating in the quiet breath.

Unnoticed by Rose, the original Doctor held his breath, looking over their heads rather than directly at them, worked to calm his body, to stand stoically, to not be jealous of himself.

Because the half-human him would have what he'd been waiting for, desperate for, for the past several years.

He refused to let a tear fall when Rose tugged the Doctor down to her level, pressing her lips against his insistently, lovingly, and the response of his other self, adoring the woman that he loved.

It took everything he had to turn away from his Rose, his wonderful, beautiful Rose, and walk to his TARDIS, leaving her behind for a final time. He could not watch her wrap her arms around the man that was only half him.

Rose watched the TARDIS disappear for what she knew had to be the last time, tears falling from her eyes as the Doctor left her. She felt the human Doctor come stand next to her, gently taking her hand in his and squeezing it reassuringly. When the TARDIS was completely gone, the last _whooshing_ sound gone from her world, she looked at her Doctor, and he at her. He carefully brushed the hair from her face and she leaned into him, resting her head on his chest, listening to his single heartbeat.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of her head.

He still smelt like the Doctor, felt like him, and Rose thought maybe, just maybe, she would be all right this time.


	10. Chapter 10: John

**What's this? The Second Chapter in a few hours? Maybe I feel bad 'cause I'm such a good updater.  
****Mostly fluff/filler stuff. **

John woke up around 5:30AM.

Too early for some, but just right for him.

Rose complained incessantly about it.

Usually, he would wake up, kiss Rose on the cheek, and slip out of bed, exiting the bedroom as quietly as he could. He couldn't deal with a sleep-deprived Rose every day. He would close the door to the tiny closet before using his cell phone as a light to find his sweats and get changed, turn the light off again, slip out of the closet, kiss Rose on the cheek again (usually answered by her grumbling and snuggling into her blankets) and leave the room. He'd have a glass of water and then go for a run.

John loved to run.

But this morning, when he woke, he found he was too comfortable in his position to even consider leaving his bed. Was this how Rose felt every morning? He turned onto his side to look at her, smiling when he did.

She was beautiful, his Rose. And in her sleep she looked peaceful. So for a while, just a few minutes, he stayed where he was, bundled in his blankets, warm and cozy.

Naturally, after a while, he got restless. He was not longer tired, but he was bored. With a sigh, he rolled himself towards his girlfriend, not stopping until he was on top of her. With a dramatic groan, she turned her head to see him lying casually on top of her, his eyes closed as though that was where he was planning to sleep. The first words she uttered were quite muffled, but he managed to distinguish a garbled _"get off, you lump,_" and he was pushed aside.

He grinned widely at her as she opened one eye to peek at him. She yawned widely, stretching out her arms in a stereotypical fashion and sat up, her hair a tangled mess and her eyes bleary. "What time is it?" She mumbled, almost incoherently.

"Almost 7," John told her.

She groaned loudly and flopped back onto the bed, covering her eyes with her palm. John reached out and poked her side, the slight bit of skin that was visible between her pajama top and bottoms. She squealed and wiggled away from him. "Your hands are cold," she gasped.

He grinned and moved closer. "We have to get up anyway, sweetheart." He told her quietly, leaning in to kiss her cheek. She sighed and sat up again, this time swinging around so her feet touched the ground. She stood on her tiptoes and stretched upwards, cracking her back and shoulders. Before moving towards the bathroom.

She grabbed a towel, and stood in the doorframe, turning to smile at him. "Could you –"

"Make the bed while you take a shower? Yes." John finished for her, a cheeky smile on his lips. "Let me know if you need any help in there."

He heard her laugh as she closed the doors.

Most mornings were some variation of this, and he couldn't help be grateful that he got to live out his life with her. They'd only been back in the parallel world for two years, but it simultaneously felt like they'd always lived like this and brand new.

After her shower, it was his turn. So he kissed her nose as she left and he entered the bathroom, receiving a bleary eyed smile as a reward.

He reached into their closet and found his Torchwood uniform – a simple pair of black trousers, a black shirt, and a particularly handy utility belt in which, to Rose's amusement, he often stashed a banana or two. The uniform was official Torchwood – bullet and laser proof fibers. His standard combat boots were waiting for him by the door.

Rose's uniform, in his opinion, was much better. Still all black, though her trousers were much more form fitting than his, which he greatly appreciated.

After dressing, he went to their shared kitchen, where she was reading the newspaper and sipping her tea, a full mug of tea next to her, already sweetened to his taste. He took a grateful sip and hummed in satisfaction while Rose crinkled her nose at the amount of sugar he enjoyed in his tea.

They rode to work together, during which John told Rose stories of his travels as the Doctor in the other universe.

Today though, was John least favourite type of day. One of their agents had been killed in action, and today was his funeral. As John had not been a teammate of the fallen agent, he would attend the funeral as a guest, in his regular work uniform.

Rose, however, was dressed quite differently. Her pants were black and quite formal, 3 satin black stripes down either side, and well shined dress shoes. Her blazer was a deep blue, two columns of buttons making their way down the front on the collar of her white blouse was visible, buttoned right up to her neck. Four vertical gold bars we sewn onto the right sleeve, on her bicep, representing Torchwood's simplicity and her rank: sergeant. Her cap was tucked under her arm. Her beautiful gold hair, darker than when he'd first known her, was pulled into a tight bun, and the only makeup she wore was eyeliner and mascara.

He dropped her off at the front of the building, knowing she needed to be there first, and that today, she would not be going with him to the field agent section of Torchwood. She leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek and a grateful smile before getting out of the car.

He drove the car to their designated parking spot and stepped out, grabbing his bag before catching up to the rest of the staff.

"Jake," he called when he saw his friend, who turned at the mention of his name. He waited still for John to catch up with him before walking again. "How're you, mate?" Jake asked John as they headed in the building.

"Not too bad. Nice weather today," John commented off handedly.

"Perfect for a funeral," Jake replied sarcastically. John shot him a look before heading to the training area.

* * *

Rose looked on at the body of her fallen comrade, lying peacefully in the satin line coffin. She hadn't been close to him, but they'd started at Torchwood around the same time and become somewhat friendly. He'd flirted with her until it became apparent to him that she was not available, at which point they became easy friends. He was dressed in the same garb as her, though only 3 bars decorated his shoulder. Age lines around his eyes had deepened, and his hair was streaked with grey. Self-consciously, Rose smoothed her own perfectly blonde hair back.

"Goodbye, my friend." She saluted him.

Rose was no stranger to death. She'd seen much of it while traveling with the Doctor, and unfortunately, working for a branch of the military meant that she'd continued to see death relatively regularly.

Her mother thought she was crazy for continuing her work at Torchwood, albeit not in the same department. Now that she was no longer desperate to cross the dimensions, Rose had trained as a field agent along with John.

The funeral was a formal affair. Rose carried out the coffin along with five other people who'd worked with Officer McCarthy. He was buried in an army plot, in a row of perfectly lined up white gravestones, with his wife off crying to the side.

* * *

When the day was done John found Rose starting herself in the mirror in their bedroom, a frown on her face. His eyebrows pinched together as he walked over and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, smiling at her when she sighed and sank into him. "Everything alright, sweetheart?" He asked, kissing her cheek.

"'S'fine." Rose said with a shrug. "What are we doing for dinner?"

"I thought we could go out," John replied, airily, hoping she couldn't feel his pulse quicken.

She groaned, "not 'out' like to my parents', right?"

John laughed. "No. But it _is_ a surprise, so you don't get to know."

Rose untangled herself from his arms. "A surprise? How am I dressing for the surprise?"

John smiled at her, surprising her with a tug on her arm that made her twirl. She laughed and let go of his arm, unsteadily trying to regain her balance on her feet. "Dress like you," he told her. "I have to run an errand first, but I'll be back here at 6:00 to pick you up."

Rose smiled in acknowledgement.

They both changed out of their work uniforms, John into simple jeans and a maroon t-shirt, while Rose stayed in her undergarments, digging through the closet for something "Rose".

He prided himself on knowing he'd only stared at her rear for a minute and a half.

He drove quickly – Rose would have surely disapproved – until he reached his destination.

The Tyler Mansion.

Stepping out of the car, he ran his hand through his hair before bounding up the steps and knocking on the door.

It was Tony who answered, though John had no idea how he managed to reach the doorknob, he grinned down at the little Tyler, who grinned back.

"Tony! I have told you not to answer the door by yourself!" Jackie Tyler rushed over, a frown on her face. He simply grinned mischievously at his mother, in a very Rose-esque manner. Jackie looked up to see John at the door and smiled. "John! What are you doing here?"

"I came to pick it up," John said nervously, running his hands through his hair again.

He winced at Jackie's squeal of joy before entering the house. "You remember where we put it?" Jackie asked him, and at his nod left him alone, scooping up her errant child and heading, John assumed, to the dining room. John bounded up the stairs to the spare bedroom where he and Rose occasionally stayed, making a b-line to the closet and opening it carefully.


	11. Chapter 11: Rose

Rose spent far more time than she would ever admit staring into her closet, looking for something that was distinctly "Rose". She sighed in irritation at her boyfriend. It was not an unusual request for him, and it was often his response when she asked what she should wear or how she should act.

She smiled at the thought of someone who saw her as completely perfect, much in the same way that she thought of him.

It had been hard, the first few weeks together, two years ago – almost to the day, actually. He'd only just been born, he didn't understand the limits of his human body, and he resented being stuck in one place at one time – stuck on the slow path.

For her, she'd resented him for looking so much like the Doctor she wanted, the one that seemed to constantly leave her behind, the one who she'd spent years of her life trying to get back to, only to be dumped back on Darlig Ulv Stranden.

It had taken time for the two to adjust to each other, but in time, they had.

It had really started when Rose had had a frightening realistic nightmare, back when they were living at her parents' in separate bedrooms. She remembered it all too clearly – it had been how things would have turned out if Donna had not saved them on the crucible. She'd woken up with a gasp, sitting up and shaking violently.

And John had burst into her room, his hair wilder than usual and his eyes wide, dressed only in fleece pajama bottoms. He'd rushed to her side upon seeing her state, sitting on her bed and holding her close to his chest while he smoothed her hair and rubbed reassuring circles with his thumb on the small of her back. Rose managed to stop shaking after several minutes, and he had kissed the top of her head before standing to leave.

Rose had kept a grip on his wrist and begged him not to leave her.

He'd sat back down, his eyes meeting hers, and brushed a strand of hair from her face before cupping her cheek. "I'll be here as along as you want, sweetheart." He'd whispered to her.

When she'd lied back down in her bed, he had gotten under the covers with her, holding her tightly.

They hadn't slept apart since.

She settled on simple clothing – a black pair of trousers, a pink t-shirt, and a black leather jacket with a fur-lined hood. She undid the bun that her hair had been tightly tied and left it loose, and left her work makeup on. She grabbed a black pair of runners from the closet and slipped them on.

She continued to stare at herself in the mirror for several minutes. She was unsure about the last item of the outfit – her TARDIS key on a silver chain. She did not want to hurt John by reminding him that they were stuck, trapped, with no TARDIS, but it was distinctly _Rose_ and so she carefully slipped it one and tucked the key under her shirt, so it wouldn't be visible.

John, true to his word, arrived at their flat at precisely 6:00. She'd been sitting on the couch, only having been ready to go for about 5 minutes, when she heard a knock on the door. She was utterly confused as she went to answer.

Before her, in a tight blue suit, was John Smith, grinning madly at her. He was leaning on the doorframe, hands tucked easily into his pockets, as though waiting for her to say something.

"I – I don't –" Rose sputtered ungracefully, staring at him in wide-eyed shock. She hadn't seen that suit since their first day in the parallel world, and had simply assumed that he'd gotten rid of it out of frustration.

"What do you think?" John asked her cheekily, waggling his eyebrows at her.

Rose stepped forward carefully, bringing her hand up and gently pressing her fingers to the lapel of his suit. "I thought you'd gotten rid of this." She whispered, opting to keep looking at every detail of the suit rather than meet his eyes.

She could feel his warm brown eyes on her, regardless, and when his hand came up to catch hers, she finally lifted her gaze, seeing an unsure smile on his face. "No," he told her simply. "I wasn't sure – I didn't – I left it at your mother's." He finally managed to say. "I didn't think either of us would want to see it, not at the start, anyway."

"I've missed it," Rose told him honestly, smiling at him. She felt tears prick at her eyes and cursed herself for being an easy crier when it came to him.

He reached out with his free hand and cupped her cheek. "Me too," he said with a crooked smirk, before leaning in to press his lips to hers.

It was only a peck, a quick reassurance kiss, but Rose felt her lips tingle at the contact and she smiled widely at him when they both pulled back.

He returned her smile before tugging her out of the flat. "Come on, then. Allons-y!" She let herself be pulled to their car, and giggled when he chivalrously opened her door with a bow, allowing her to go in first. She did as good a curtsey as she could manage in her trousers, making him laugh before he carefully closed the door and made his way to the driver's side. He climbed in rather gracefully, and turned to shoot her a million-watt smile before he started the car.

John parked the car in an empty lot, making his way around the car again to open her door for her. She raised her eyebrows at him when he reached down to give her a hand, making him smile widely again. When she was out of the car and the door shut behind her, he surprised her again by reaching into the back seat and pulling out a picnic basket.

"We're going on a picnic?" She asked him with a smile.

He said nothing, taking her hand with his free one and leading her into the park. It was starting to get dark, so the park was empty of joggers and children playing. They walked for several minutes before John deemed a spot good enough, laying down the picnic blanket with great flair. The space was on top of a small hill, where they could see the stars that were starting to come out.

She sat on the blanket, extending her legs, as she watched John as he carefully put down the picnic basket, sat next to it, and promptly started reaching into it.

He pulled out a container of strawberries, and Rose immediately helped herself to one, laughing with the fruit still in her mouth when the Doctor shot her an affronted look. He continued to pull food out – finishing with two peanut butter and jam sandwiches. She shot him a tongue-in-tooth grin.

"Well, I think cheers are in order," John said, situating himself comfortably on the blanket and holding up a juice box. Rose laughed, grabbing her own juice box and carefully tapping his before she put the straw in and took a sip. She laughed at the look of satisfaction on his face, which only made him smile wider.

"Rose," John said suddenly, after a long silence between the two of them. She'd been leaning back on her elbows, watching the stars, and turned her beautiful whiskey-coloured eyes to him. "Rose," he started again, stumbling over many words before finally getting a semblance of a sentence out. "Rose, I love you."

She raised her eyebrows, "I love you, too, John." She smiled sweetly at him.

He cleared his throat, "But I – Rose, you're my life. Quite literally the reason for my existence, I think. I had the stars and time at my feet, and I can't think of any time I've been happier than the time we've spent together. If I'm ever upset or sad or angry I look at you and you make me feel like everything is going to be okay. You smile at me and I think that earth is the most perfect place in the world because you're in it. You make me so happy, Rose, and you don't even have to do anything. I never thought I would want to do this, Rose, I never thought I would ever be the one who would want to settle down, but with you…I…" He trailed off, lost in her eyes. She was looking him with wide eyes, tears beginning to form, and sat up so that she was kneeling in front of him. Taking a deep breath, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small, royal blue box. He heard her gasp and looked up to see shock written all over her beautiful face, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "Rose Tyler," he opened the box to reveal a simple silver ring with a blue diamond in its centre, "Will you marry me?"

Rose stared at him for a moment, her eyes boring into his. Her mouth was still open in shock, and she covered it quickly with her hand. She sniffled once and removed her hand to whisper a very quiet, very simple, "Yes."

He smiled so widely he thought his cheeks might crack, and gently held out his hand. She slipped her left hand into his, and he noticed it was shaking slightly. With a wink, he carefully slipped the ring onto her fourth finger. She sniffled again, and then let out an ecstatic laugh, throwing her arms around his neck.

He laughed as well, hugging her tightly in return.


	12. Chapter 12: Sontarans

"_Holy fuck," _Rose gasped as she dodged a Sontaran gun, seeing it miss her feet by mere inches. She didn't know where her team was, and she certainly couldn't communicate with them via her Bluetooth earpiece, knowing that the smallest sound would attract the attention of the Sontarans. Instead she was forced to use a clicker that was attached to the earpiece she wore. She pressed it, holding it for three seconds, then released and gave two quick bleeps – her specific code for _I'm alright._

Three short bleeps. Jake was fine.

One short, one long, another short. Gwen was fine.

Two short bleeps. Eric was fine.

She held her breath as she waited for the last signal, her heart pounding in her chest. The silence was far to long, and she was about to take off, regardless of the risk, when she heard two long bleeps and one short one. She sighed John was fine.

She thought back to how this war had started. It had been meant to be diplomatic talks with the Sontarans, who had been orbiting earth for several days. Talks had gone south (as they often did with species like the war-hungry Sontarans), gunshots had sounded, and now here they were.

It was their fifth day in the field, the first day Rose had been separated from her team. She scrambled into a small alcove in the abandoned house she'd made shelter in, clamping her hand over her mouth and nose to mask the sound of her breathing. From her hiding spot, she saw a pair of small black boots – definitely Sontaran – enter the house.

She'd been found.

She kept her eyes wide and her hand over her mouth as she watched him blunder about the house, tossing tables and opening cupboards so quickly that the doors came off. She stayed in her hiding place for several minutes, even after the alien had left, before slowly poking her head out of the alcove.

Empty.

With a sigh, she emerged from the small space, grabbing her large gun and checking her utility belt for all her equipment. When she knew she had everything, she slung the gun over her shoulders and grabbed the phaser from her belt, preferring it significantly.

She slowly opened the door, peeking around it best she could, only to come face to face with the Sontaran.

He gave her a wicked, cruel smile, licking his few teeth, before he shot her point blank in the chest.

The last thing she remembered was the darkness over coming her and her head hitting the ground.

She woke up with a jolt, her eyes popping open to see a cloudless blue sky. She remembered seeing the Sontaran…and…being shot? Her hands flew to her stomach, feeling for charred fibers or some sort of wound.

Nothing.

She forced herself to sit up, groaning as she did so. She looked down at her clothes and was shocked to see herself covered in blood. Her hand went to her ear, only to find her headset missing. She looked around and spotted on the ground. Quickly, she grabbed it and put in back in place.

"…_Rose? Rose, are you all right? Rose, answer me! Rose!" _John's voice sounded panicked through the earpiece.

She pressed her finger to her ear. "'S'me. 'M'alright." She grunted out, standing awkwardly. She heard several sighs of relief through the earpiece. She looked around the empty space around her once more, her eyebrows pinching into a frown. "What happened to the Sontarans?"

"_We finally managed to get the device together. John threatened them – told them to run. You should have seen his face." _Jake told her over the Bluetooth. Rose grinned as she imagined John going full _Oncoming Storm_. "_Anyway, they're gone. Where are you?" _

She'd missed the end of the fight? That was embarrassing. "Um," she looked at the old house – which was severely more worn-down than it had been before she'd hid in it. "I'm at the old Hutchison house. I'll be back at the tower in 5 minutes."

When John came home, anxious to see his fiancé after losing contact with her during the battle, he found her staring herself in the mirror again. Her hands were on her stomach, and she regarded herself with a confused frown. He came up to her side and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. To his surprise, she didn't sink into him like she usually did after a long day. He met her confused and fearful gaze through the mirror.

"I died today," she whispered. John felt his mouth dry out and his heart start to pound.

"What?"

"I was leaving the house and a Sontaran shot me. Right here." She showed him on her stomach. "I died. And then I woke up."

John drew in a shaking breath. "You must be mistaken, Rose. You're fine. I'm right here, everything's fine."

"No, I –" Rose started. "My uniform…"

John turned his head to see her uniform on the floor. Reluctantly, he let go of Rose, who didn't move, and went to pick it up. When he saw her standard-issue Torchwood armour, his blood ran cold. A whole had torn through the center, and the shirt was soaked in blood. His eyes widened and he felt his blood freeze in his veins as he looked at her. Their eyes met, both wide and terrified. He rushed back to her, wrapping her tightly to him, his eyes still wide. She returned the desperate embrace with as much force and desperation as him.

They didn't talk about the incident again, both dancing around the elephant in the room while pretending they were fine. Rose chattered endlessly about the wedding, which was coming up quite soon – two months – and John smiled at her as she rambled.

They tasted cakes – settling on a light banana flavor with – in Rose's words – a _gorgeous_ frosting.

She tried on wedding dresses with her mother and Gwen; he tried on tuxes with Pete, Tony, and Jake.

It was Jackie who would bring on the next challenge – unknowingly of course, not noticing how her daughter's widened and she stopped in her tracks with the utterance of a single phrase.

"_You haven't aged a day."_

Rose had sped home, heart pounding in her chest, hands shaking, eyes wide. She'd been in the parallel world for 6 years now, with a brief period in earth Prime during her third year. How could she not have noticed?

She gasped when she felt a familiar energy build up inside her, pulling her car over to the side of the road to make sure she wouldn't endanger anyone. Her vision began to blur, tingeing gold, and time began to dance in her mind.

_All that is, all that was, all that ever could be. _

When she regained her vision, she managed to calm her shaking slightly, though with still vibrating hands she reached for her cell phone, pulling it out of her pocket and hitting speed dial 1.

"_Rose? Aren't you with your mother?" _

"I'm not aging." She breathed out. "I haven't aged since the Game Station. Oh, God, John! I'm not aging." He said nothing. "You knew?" Rose whispered, terrified.

He sighed on the other end. _"I noticed a while back." _

Rose let out a shaking breath. "Are you at home?"

"_Yes."_

"I'll be there in five minutes."

"_Alright."_


	13. Chapter 13: Harriet Jones

John felt a nervous shiver make its way down his spine as he tied on his tie. Once he was satisfied with it, he observed himself in the mirror.

He looked quite dashing, if he did say so himself. The silky black jacket fit him just right, well tailored to his skinny form. The dark grey vest he wore was only visible if he untied his jacket – which he did and undid several times before deciding it looked much better buttoned up. His white collared shirt contrasted nicely with the dark grey tie. His perfectly pleated black trousers reached his meticulously shined shoes, though he grinned when he thought of the socks he wore – invisible under the trousers, but he knew they'd be a laugh when Rose spotted them.

She'd had them made special for him – tall blue socks that I read _I'm the Doctor_. He made sure they were well hidden – while Rose would laugh, he knew Jackie would not.

He was brought from his reverie when Pete poked his head through the doorway. "Ready, John?"

John took grinned widely. "I've been ready for years, Pete." He responded, following Rose's father out of the room.

* * *

Rose breathed deeply as she stared herself in the mirror, ignoring her mother's fussing over her hair.

Her makeup had been expertly done, a perfect mix of pink and nude colours to make her look flawless and make her whiskey-coloured eyes shine brightly. Her hair had been braided and twisted into a complex do, a light veil carefully clipped in the center so that it flowed from beneath the complicated bun. A few loose, curled locks framed her face, and her mother carefully placed a white hair band with small pink flowers on top of her head.

Her dress was really rather simple. It was a perfectly white, strapless dress that hugged her figure tightly, bound by the lace up black bodice. The bodice and hem of the dress carefully decorated with embroidery and crystals, which reflected off the lights in the room and made her sparkle slightly. The top two inches of the bodice was a beautiful TARDIS blue, artfully decorated with embroidery. The lace at the back of the bodice was the same blue, and where the white satin split to reveal more embroidered lace in the back, the edges were blue. Carefully, Gwen was tying a blue ribbon around her waist, finishing with a small bow and letting the loose pieces hang. The dress had a small train that Rose was certain (mostly certain) she would not trip over.

"You look lovely, Rose." Gwen told her, sipping from a Champaign flute and looking her friend over with approval.

Rose let out a shaky breath, "Thanks, Gwen," she replied to her maid of honor with a nervous smile. She smoothed the side of her dress carefully, not wanting to ruin the beautiful garment.

The door to the dressing room opened and Jackie popped her head in, gasping when she caught sight of her daughter. "Oh, sweetheart," Jackie breathed, entering the room completely and closing the door behind her. "You look so beautiful."

"Thanks, mum." Rose said with another smile.

"Well," Jackie straightened out. "It's time. Are you ready?"

"I've been ready forever," she extended her hand to her mother, who took it and carefully led Rose out of the room.

* * *

The Tyler Mansion had been completely redecorated for the wedding. White chairs had been carefully set up, perfectly aligned, to face the new large white wedding arch. A long red carpet created an aisle that led directly to it, and there seemed to be flowers everywhere.

John felt his nose twitch, but refused to allow himself to sneeze. He did sniffle, earning himself a knowing grin from Pete. There were several people already there, mingling about. John didn't know many of them, and know that Rose had been very frustrated when her mother had insisted on inviting so many people. She'd managed to convince her mother to limit the guest list quite significantly – Jackie had originally been planning on inviting well over 250 people, but Rose had argued, and, as usual, the bride was right. They'd limited the guest list to about 75 people. Rose still felt like this was far too many people, most of whom she didn't even know, but Jackie would not concede to less and Rose had grudgingly agreed, so long as no media were permitted on site.

The president of Britain, a miss Harriet Jones (who did not know Rose, though Rose still felt giddy at the sight of her alive and well) was invited and in attendance, chatting rather amicably with several Torchwood operatives.

Richard Paler, who John did not know well, came up to him, offering his hand. John shook it with a smile, meeting the older man's eyes. "You're a lucky man, Mister Smith," Paler told him earnestly.

"I know, sir," John replied respectfully, knowing full well that this man had been one of the few that Rose had tolerated and even admired in her time here alone.

"None of that," Paler clasped John's shoulder. "It's Richard."

"Richard," John repeated with a smile, giving the man a nod of appreciation.

"It was very kind of you two to think of me." Paler said casually. "I heard the invitation list was severely cut." He continued with an amused twinkle in his eyes.

John grinned. "You were at the top of Rose's list, Richard. She thinks very highly of you."

Paler laughed, "And I her. She's a very determined young woman. You'll have your work cut out for you, John."

John chuckled. "Don't I know it."

Paler offered him a final smile before walking to his seat as the string quartet began to play a slow tune that John didn't recognize but that instantly screamed _Rose_. People everywhere began to move to their seats, and John stood, eyes on the end of the long red carpet, on his side of the wedding arch. Harriet Jones, who was officiating the wedding, stood proudly next to him.

First down the aisle was Tony, looking smart in his suit, grinning widely as he carried the rings towards John. John grinned as he watched his soon-to-be brother-in-law carefully carry the pillow that held two delicate silver rings, each inscribed with the bride and groom's names in circular Gallifreyan.

Next down the aisle were Gwen and Jake, best man and maid of honor, walking arm in arm with wide smiles. Jake moved to stand next to John, grinning at him, while Gwen moved to the other side of the arch, standing out of the way. She smiled widely at John, giving him an approving eyebrow raise, which he returned, nodding to her dress. She grinned, revealing the gap between her teeth.

The music changed and suddenly there was Rose, arm in arm with Pete, who was looking at her proudly.

John felt his throat constrict at the sight of her. She was glowing in her beautiful white dress, proudly displaying the TARDIS blue that brought tears to his eyes. Their eyes met and she grinned widely at him, giving him the tongue-touched smile he loved so much. He didn't take his eyes off her while she made her way to him, unable to look away from her. She was pure beauty.

When she finally reached him, he could see the tears brimming in her own eyes. He watched as she leaned over to kiss Pete on the cheek. Pete returned the gesture and carefully took Rose's hand and placed it in John's.

As it always did, having Rose's hand in his felt right, and he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Hi," She said quietly, still smiling widely at him.

"Hi," he replied, grinning just as widely, as he led to toward Harriet Jones, who smiled knowingly at them.

"Friends and family," Harriet began. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the joyous union of Rose Marion Tyler and John Alistair Smith in marriage. Rose, John, today you begin the wondrous journey of marriage, hand in hand, standing together. You are leaving you separate lives behind to lead one joint life, as a team.

"True marriage is more than joining the bonds of marriage of two persons; it is the union of two hearts. It lives on the love you give each other and never grows old, but thrives on the joy of each new day. Marriage is love. May you always be able to talk things over, to confide in each other, to laugh with each other, to enjoy life together, and to share moments of quiet and peace, when the day is done. May you be blessed with a lifetime of happiness and a home of warmth and understanding.

"I understand the two of you have written your own vows?" Harriet asked, and, with a nod from both, continued, "then Rose, you go ahead."

Rose cleared her throat, meeting John's smiling eyes. She took a deep breath before beginning. "John, before I met you, my life was so boring. I never thought that I would be so lucky to meet you, to run with you, to love you, and to have you love me in return," Rose smiled a John, fighting back tears. "You've shown me so many wonderful, beautiful things, taken me on so many adventures I never thought I would have. From 'run', you've shown me a different side of myself, a side I never thought I had. Even though we don't travel like we used to, I think we've had different adventures, adventures that are just as good, adventures I wouldn't give up for the universe," she gave him a tongue-touched smile. "You've shown me, like you show everyone you touch, that I can be brilliant, and when I'm with you, I feel brilliant. In this world that I've never felt at home in, you make me feel like I belong. And for the rest of time, there is no place I'd rather be than at your side, if you'll have me." She finished, taking a ring from Harriet Jones and holding out her hand. Carefully, John placed his left hand in hers, and she slipped the silver band onto his finger, sniffling slightly.

Harriet smiled. "John?"

John smiled, looking at his Rose. "Rose, I always thought I'd seen everything. When came blundering into my life," they exchanged a secret smile, "I didn't know what to make of you. And then, knowing you only for a day, I told you my darkest secret – the one I thought I wouldn't share with anyone. I told you that I was travelling alone, because there was no one left. And then you said –"

"There's me." Rose cut in, making their audience chuckle and John smile widely.

"And ever since, you have my person, my best friend, my love. You showed me sides of me that I thought were lost, drowned out by loss and sorrow. Before you, I'd never had someone who cared so much for me that they were willing to risk everything, just to keep me with them. You've never judged me, just supported the decisions I made when I felt the weight of the universe on my shoulders. And when I needed you most – to remind me of who I really am, there you were. You've always been there. And I can't believe I could ever be so lucky as to find you.

"So," he took the second silver band from Harriet and offered his hand, much as she had early. She placed her left hand in his. "If you'll have me, Rose Tyler, I'd like to love you for the rest of my human life." He carefully placed the band on her finger.

"By the powers invested in me by the People's Republic of Great Britain, I pronounce you husband and wife. John, you may kiss the bride." Harriet continued.

John thought he heard Rose mutter _finally_ under her breath, and smiled widely at her. Carefully and softly, he pressed his lips to hers, feeling her smile under the kiss and holding her tightly. When they broke apart, much too soon, in his opinion, she was smiling widely at him, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Harriet said with a smile, "I present to you, for the first time, John and Rose Smith."


	14. Chapter 14: Bad Wolf

Rose sometimes wondered if the Doctor kept humans around – brought them on as companions, traveled with them - because after a long life, it was easy to forget what humanity was.

Then again, the deaths of her family helped her hang on to hers, where he had the death of an entire species on his shoulders. His species.

Rose felt old. But then, she thought, she was 307. She _was_ old. She was very old. And yet she still looked no older than 23. She hadn't changed much in 288 years – her hair was no longer bottle blonde – more of a soft dirty blonde that suited her face much better, and several inches longer. She usually kept it in a half up, lazy do that was simple but elegant. Unnoticeable. She wore less makeup than she had as a child, often wincing when she saw pictures. Had she really needed that much mascara?

But though she looked more or less the same, Rose felt different. Different enough that she probably wouldn't be recognized back in the original universe – she had a different, more confident, older, and wiser air about her that somehow came across on her very young face, and years of wisdom and loss reflected in her honey-coloured eyes.

At 307, Rose had thought a lot about her humanity. It was difficult sometimes, she mused, as she sat on a bench in a deserted graveyard on a bright, sunny Tuesday, to remind herself that her humanity was a good thing. She had seen far too many wars, too many merciless battles, too much death, too much evil to always want to empathize. Some days she thought of how easy it would be to turn off her humanity, like a switch.

She then thought of the Cybermen, and how their humanity as essentially controlled in that fashion, and felt a chill run through down her spine.

She could never allow herself to become that.

Rose sighed, looking at the smooth stones in front of her.

_Jackie Tyler, 87 _

_1 February 1967 – 27 July, 2054_

_Beloved Mother _

_And her Husband, Peter Tyler, 99_

_15 September 1954 – 12 October 2054_

_Dedicated Father_

_Anthony Tyler, 55_

_4 July 2007 – 7 December 2062_

_Gone too soon_

_Missed Brother_

_John Alistair Smith, 91_

_7 March 1985 – 2 November 2076_

_Devoted Husband_

Rose stood, rising from her seat on the bench, and crouched down within reach of each of the stones. She kissed her fingertips and touched each of the stones in turn, saying her final goodbye to her family. She had decided, after 3 centuries, that she could no longer stay in the parallel world after years of staying simply to feel close to her John, her family. Painful memories cut deep into her mind wherever she went, and in her original universe she hoped the pain would ease up, especially if she limited her time on earth.

She couldn't have known, when she settled into this new universe with her new Doctor, that the best thing that had ever happened to her – a human Doctor with whom she could live out her forever – would be the thing that would cause her the most pain. She had never, ever planned on watching the Doctor die. She felt her eyes start to water just at the thought of it.

To save herself from that pain – the pain of knowing someone, loving someone who would never be able to live out their forever with her, she separated herself from society, living in her own sort of bubble in her flat and Torchwood tower. She'd understood why the Doctor sent her away – he'd loved her. She had no doubt about that, no longer the blind, naïve child of her youth: she knew the Doctor had loved her.

And she now understood why he'd sent her away rather than watch her wither and die.

Isolation had allowed Rose to get to the know Other, the Bad Wolf, and to understand the power that it held in her mind. Originally, the Bad Wolf had protected her from the Time Vortex that she had absorbed, shielding her mind from burning. As she'd aged, her mind had grown and developed next to whatever Time Vortex still remained inside of her, a prolonged exposure not only making Rose seemingly immortal (she had yet to encounter anything that could make her stay dead, anyway), but also giving her goddess-like powers, such as a brain that processed information much faster than the average human's (reminiscent of when she'd eaten the Krilitane chips) and needed far less sleep – usually only a few every week. Her immortality extended to her body in the sense that she didn't age, stuck the in the body of a 20 year old forever.

Essentially, she eventually came to realize, she was as close to being Gallifreyan as a human could be.

With a final glance at her family and a sigh, Rose turned on the vortex manipulator on her forearm and typed in the coordinates for London, Earth Prime, January 1, 2015.

* * *

Traveling through the Howling was never pleasant.

She hadn't called it the Void in centuries – it didn't feel empty to her. It felt like there was something watching her, just over her shoulder. A wolf, watching from a distance.

The Howling seemed a much more appropriate term.

It was just her, though – she recalled talking to others who had crossed it – Pete, Mickey, Jackie, all of whom said it felt like nothing – like dead space. They had always called it the Void.

She pressed her fingers to her temples and closed her eyes, waiting for the pain of crossing through dimensions – like being hurled through a brick wall – to pass. She may be an immortal creature, she thought wryly, but any sort of space-travel without a capsule made her head spin.

She when she finally opened her eyes, she was suddenly grateful she'd materialized in a hidden alley between two shops. Her eyes flew wide open and her mouth dropped when she took in the scene in front of her.

London was tumbling – it was strangely sunny but bricks and torn down buildings were everywhere. She could hear laser blasts and screams in the distance, but from where she stood, there was no one.

Cautiously, she stepped out from between the shops, taking in everything in. There was nothing she could do here, she thought sadly. She couldn't turn back time – she could, technically, travel back – but she wouldn't. She couldn't risk altering events now that she'd landed in them.

With a sigh and a quick look at London, she quickly inputted the coordinates for Cardiff.

* * *

She landed dead in the center of the plaza where the TARDIS often used the rift to charge up – and no one seemed to see her. She frowned, spinning around on the spot, taking in her surroundings.

Cardiff was in the same state as London, in shambles, but more populated. People were milling about – many looked like they hadn't bathed in weeks, with dirt on their faces and clothes and tired eyes. They huddled in groups behind fallen buildings, and her heart squeezed at the sight of the shelters people had created out of the rubble.

"What are you doing?!" She heard someone shout, and suddenly she was being pulled out of the plaza, through a door, and the door was slammed behind her. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

When Rose finally turned to face the man, she felt her entire body stiffen up. Logically, she reasoned, she should have recognized the voice, the accent, but it had been far too long – 288 years – since she had heard it, she supposed she couldn't blame herself too much for taking longer to identify the voice.

"_Rose?"_

**You've probably guessed who the voice belongs to. If you haven't, shame on you. See you soon!**


	15. Chapter 15: Wilf

"_Rose?" _

"_Jack?"_ Rose breathed, hugging him tightly. "What the bloody hell is going on?" she looked around at the desolate city through a small window in the door.

"I was just about to say the same thing!" Jack exclaimed, pulling Rose to his chest in a bone-crushing hug. She returned it with equal enthusiasm, though with not as much force. "I never thought I would see you again! I spoke with the Doctor, a little while ago. He said you were in the parallel world, with the metacrisis." He pulled back from the hug but placed his hands on either of her shoulders, leaning in close to examine her face.

She sighed, "I was. He died."

She was immediately pulled into another hug.

"I'm sorry, Rose." Jack muttered. "What happened?"

"Um," Rose bit her lip, "he died of old age."

Jack said nothing, but Rose felt him stiffen up beneath her before he stepped away from her, hands on her shoulders again, his eyes wide.

"I'm…um…I…what's going on here anyway?" Rose stumbled over her words before deciding to change the subject.

Jack sighed and gave her a look that clearly said _that was a terrible segue_ but he told her anyway. "A couple weeks ago and alien race flew over earth and demanded resources – oil, crops, even slaves. We turned them down. They've been attacking since. You're lucky you arrived in the day – they usually only attack at night, only a few of them are out when the sun's up. I think it hurts their eyes." Jack launched into detailed explanations of what had happened since the invasion. She winced when he talked about the massive amount of deaths, of their attempts to fight off the alien race that had yet to succeed. Every night, out came the aliens to take as many people as they could to sell them into slavery.

Rose felt her face harden as Jack talked, anger burning gold in her mind and pumping adrenaline through her system.

"Have you called the Doctor?" She asked Jack when he was finished talking. If anyone could stop the invasion, it was the Time Lord.

Jack nodded, rubbing his temples with his hands. "I called him a month back. He said he'd come, but no sign of him yet."

"Right." Rose sighed. She stood at attention and saluted Jack. "I was the Major-General of Division Bad Wolf, Torchwood One, Universe 48-D-Binary-52309." She told him matter of factly. "How can I help?"

* * *

Rose meshed in quickly with the survivors in Cardiff. During the days, she did everything from teach civilians basic defense to getting food for the refugees that were now living in what had been Torchwood tower. She was easily accepted into the group – anyone who was alive and could help was treated with respect from most people.

Which was why she was out in broad daylight, on a mission to get as much food as possible, wearing the old black Torchwood uniform that she'd been wearing on her arrival in this universe, with a large gun strapped over her shoulder. Her utility belt held a plasma gun, a sonic screwdriver of her own construction, a stun gun, a regular pistol, and ammunition.

She felt like she was carrying a bloody hip pack.

While going grocery shopping.

Through a bloody minefield.

Hearing a twig snap, she quickly swung the obscenely large gun into position. It was a modified version of the Dalek-killing guns she'd used the last time she'd been in this universe. She and Jack had spent days making it more efficient and quicker to fire, meaning she could shoot several rounds faster. They'd consider taking out the Dalek-killing capabilities altogether, but she'd reasoned, through gritted teeth, that they never knew when the damn things would show up, and they'd best stay prepared.

She lowered her gun immediately when she saw the frightened civilians, holding one hand up in apology. The gun was slung back into its resting place on her back, and she advanced towards the person – a older man, white hair, wide around the center. She recognized him immediately.

Wilf Noble.

What on earth was he doing in Cardiff?

"Mister Noble?" She called, jogging towards him. She brushed away grime she could feel on her face, unsure if he would recognize her.

"Miss Tyler?" He asked, his eyes widening in shock. She smiled at him, and, impulsively, she gave him a quick hug.

"What are you doing here?" Rose asked him. "'S'not safe."

"Sylvia and I," Wilf indicated his daughter, who looked worn down and tired, "we're trying to get to Cardiff. The Doctor, he's mentioned it before…he said there were people who would know what to do there."

Joy was tempered by worry in her heart. "Donna?" If the woman were brought to Torchwood – where the Doctor had been called to – she might remember. And she couldn't. She _couldn't_.

But Wilf shook his head, "She's off with her boyfriend on some trip." Rose could see the worry in his eyes. She reached forward and put her hand on his shoulder, wishing she could offer him some sort of help.

She turned and looked at her team. They were mostly civilians, although some had been training with longer than others. They watched the interaction from a distance.

"Right," Rose said, stepping away from Wilf. "Danny, Ellie, I want you to take these two back to the Hub." The two she'd asked for looked at each other, hesitant to separate from the group. "It's still broad daylight and you've done really well in your training. Just _be careful_," she stressed. "I've put a lot of work into you. And these are my friends." A light chuckle went through the group. She turned backed to Wilf and Sylvia, what she hoped was a reassuring smile on her lips. "Danny and Ellie will take you to where it's safest. I'll see you when we get back."

"Stay safe, sweetheart," Wilf said quietly before following Danny and Ellie, Sylvia moving quickly behind him.

Rose said a quick prayer, squeezing her eyes shut, hoping Donna was safe, wherever she was. Then she settled her shoulders. "Let's keep going."

* * *

"Rose, you should get some sleep." Jack's voice interrupted her thoughts. She was looking through old books, looking for anything that would help them defeat the Baranthabas (it had taken weeks to identify the aliens attacking them).

Now, three months into the attack, they were still in the same position. People were going missing by the hundreds, and Rose was starting to feel the weight of those people on her shoulders.

"Don't need much sleep, me," Rose muttered, flipping through an old book on alien technology that had fallen to earth.

She heard Jack sit next to her, and looked up to meet his worried eyes. He said nothing, but Rose knew what he was wondering.

With a sigh, she put down the book and leaned back, rubbing her face with her hands. "It was all going _so bloody well_, Jack. We were working for Torchwood, living together, and we were so happy. We got engaged, we were planning our wedding…

"And then the Sontarans came. We'd been fighting them for five days when I got separated from my team. I got shot," she ran her hands over her stomach, "and I died. Then I woke up." She said bitterly.

She felt Jack stiffen beside her, and knew that he was now hungry for details.

"And then my mum pointed out that I hadn't aged a day. And I mean literally – I haven't aged a day since…"

"Bad Wolf," Jack whispered, finishing the thought for her. He reached around and hugged her tightly, and she returned the embrace with fervor.

"Exactly. Anyway, We got married anyway, and we lived together until he died of old age. That was 218 years ago." Rose said, feeling bile rise in throat. "Everyone died. My mum, my dad, John, even my little brother Tony."

"Why didn't you come back?" Jack asked her, his voice tense.

"I…" Rose stumbled, "My life was there – my family, my job, everything. And I couldn't…I couldn't leave them. It took me 64 years before I was finally able to stop going to their graves everyday. I wanted him to know what was going on in my life, and that I missed him." She let out a sob.

They stayed entangled for several minutes, Jack gently stroking her hair and her sobbing into his grip. They took comfort in knowing that they were no longer alone – immortality couldn't be quite so bad if you didn't have to suffer through it alone.


	16. Chapter 16: The Other

"Are we online?" Rose asked Jack as she tugged at the wires in the office. He was squinting at a computer, his gaze intense and focused.

It took him several minutes before he answered, typing away on the keyboard at a speed that made even Rose's eyebrows raise. He hit a final key with flourish. "We are…online!" He declared happily. "I'm monitoring Baranthaba reception. We are definitely reaching their ship."

Suddenly, the green skinned alien popped up on a projection in front of her, a snarl on its face. "Which of the primitive humans dares to contact me?" He sneered. Even his voice made Rose's toes curl in discomfort, but she gritted her teeth and steeled herself, fixing a dangerously impassive calm on her face.

As she mentally contacted the Other, she felt her mind hum at the power. Very rarely did she let the Bad Wolf spark to life in her mind, preferring instead to try to stay relatively normal, not to expose herself to so much of the Vortex, unsure of how it would affect not only her but those around her who got caught in the stream of power. But after 6 months of seemingly endless fighting and raiding by the Baranthabas, Rose had had enough. She had tried everything from diplomatic offers, peace treaties, and threats, but the Baranthabas remained unfazed. So she stretched the old muscles, feeling the remnants of the Time Vortex ignite in her mind and burn gold behind her eyes.

"I am the Bad Wolf," she told the Baranthaba leader gravely. "I am not a human. I am a creature born of the Time Vortex. Your presence on earth is no longer tolerable. You have one hour to return the humans you have stolen and to leave this planet in peace for the rest of time." Her threat came out as a growl.

"And if I don't?" The Baranthaba snarled, his lips pulled taught.

"If you don't," the Bad Wolf replied, "For every minute longer you are here, one ship will be destroyed."

The Baranthaba laughed. "And how do you plan to do this?"

The Bad Wolf's vision began to cloud gold, and she could feel the Vortex shining through her eyes. For the first time, the Baranthaba looked afraid, stepping away from the screen. "I destroyed thousands of Dalek ships in moments when they threatened the ones I loved." She told it dangerously, her mind projecting the images of the Dalek ships turning to dust in the Baranthaba's mind, assaulting it with the power of the vision. "I will do the same to you." With that last threat, she severed the connection, blinking several times until the gold cleared from her vision.

Jack gently guided Rose to a chair, where she sat, taking deep breaths until she felt more like herself. Though she had familiarized herself with the power of the Bad Wolf, it was exhausting to bring out the entire being, unlike simply living with its effects.

"Why didn't we do this before?" Jack asked, watching the monitors gleefully as ship after ship unloaded captured humans and loading up the Baranthabas that had taken up residence on earth.

"Because it's genocide." Rose growled angrily, rubbing her temples with the tips of her fingers.

"Not if you don't actually kill them." Jack reasoned, looking away from the monitor to catch her worried gaze.

"But if they hadn't done it, I would have." Rose said quietly. "And even the thought of that many deaths…" She trailed off, a sad, faraway look in her eyes.

Jack opened his mouth to say something but frowned when he heard shouting. His eyebrows pulled down into a frown and he looked to the door. "What is that?"

The two of them made their way outside, where they saw hundreds of people cheering loudly as ship after ship disappeared from the sky. Jack slung his arm over Rose's shoulder and gave her a quick grin as people cheered and hugged at the thought of finally being free from the aliens after six long months.

"I'm going to go find Wilf," Rose told Jack quietly before tucking out from under his arm and disappearing into the crowd. Jack watched her go, feeling oddly protective of her as she went.

He was just about to join the celebrations when another sound hit his ears, catching his attention immediately and making him frown. He turned on his heel and ran towards the sound, following it into a small, empty plaza.

The TARDIS materialized into view, and Jack stood outside the door with his arms crossed, a serious look on his face.

The Doctor poked his head out, looking slightly uncomfortable but still pleased to see Jack. "Captain!" He exclaimed before stepping out of the TARDIS completely, hands in his pockets. He looked around him, seeming surprised at the rubble that littered the ground and hearing the cheering that was happening only a few blocks away. "What's going on?" The Doctor asked, a frown on his face.

"You're late." Jack told him simply.

"How late?" The Doctor asked, falling into step with Jack as they made their way towards the celebrations.

"Six months." Jack told him grimly. "Great timing actually. They've only just left."

"Who only just left? Who were they? What did they want?" The Doctor demanded as they continued to walk, occasionally have to duck out of the way of arms flailing. Jack led him straight into the Hub so that they could talk uninterrupted.

"A species called the Baranthabas," Jack told him. "They wanted resources, salves, you name it. Whatever they could take. We had a hell of a time fighting them off." He went to a monitor and turned it on, loading the page where he and Rose had been keeping all the data about the species and the details of the invasion.

"The Baranthabas?" The Doctor repeated in shock, pulling out his glasses and putting them on before running, with long strides, to meet Jack at the monitor. He read it carefully for a few moments. "Blimey," he muttered. "That's…wow. Blimey. I don't even know what to say. They're a really advanced species." He took a step away from the monitor, rubbing the back of his neck with a torn expression on his face. He seemed to realize something then, because an entirely confused expression crossed his face as he looked to Jack. "Hang on, how did you manage to get them to leave? And to return the people they'd taken on top of that…what did you do?"

Jack looked sheepish as he took a seat in a desk chair. "We…ah…we threatened them." He said evasively.

"Jaaaack," The Doctor drew out, his hands back in his pockets and a dangerous look in his eyes. "What did you do?"

"Listen, Doc…" Jack started, but was interrupted by a new voice echoing through the halls of the Hub.

"Jack! Where did you go?" The voice called.

The Doctor's eyes widened and his eyebrows shot up to his hairline, his entire posture stiffening with shock as he looked at Jack. "No," he said quietly. "That isn't possible."

As he spoke, none other than Rose Tyler jogged into the room, her cheeks flushed and eyes bright from the celebrations that were happening outside. Her eyes immediately fell on the Doctor, and she stopped mid-step, meeting his wide, shocked eyes with a tentative smile. "Hello, Doctor." She said quietly.

"Rose," the Doctor breathed. He felt like he was unable to move, nailed down where he was standing. He knew his mouth was hanging open but he couldn't bring himself to care. She slowly made her way over to him, never looking away from his face. She stopped when she was within arm's length, and he cursed himself for being unable to move. Slowly, she grinned at him, her tongue poking out from between her teeth.

And he was jolted back to reality.

In a moment, he had her wrapped up in his arms, holding her as tight to his chest as he could physically manage, breathing in her scent that was so very _Rose_ and feeling her against him, listening to her laugh as she wrapped her arms around him. He felt laughter bubble in his own throat, unable to stop himself from laughing at the top of his lungs out of pure joy as he held her.

"How are you _here_?" He whispered, still hugging her tightly and delighting in the fact that she wasn't pushing him away.

"I try not to limit myself to anyone's definition of 'possible'," she replied cheekily, and he laughed again.

He pulled away, keeping her in his arms, so that he could look at her face. With one hand, he hesitantly cupped her cheek, reveling in the feeling when she leaned into it, their eyes still locked together. "What about…" he trailed off, knowing she would know what he meant. He'd left her with _him_, the Metacrisis, and suddenly he was terrified that maybe she hadn't been able to fix him like he'd fixed his own ninth incarnation.

He thought he saw sadness in her eyes before they became guarded, and he felt himself panicking at the loss of joy in her eyes. "He died." She whispered, and he understood.

There was a lot they needed to talk about, not the least of which was how she was _here_, with him, but it could wait.

For now, he was more than content just to hold her, to breathe in her scent again, to feel her body against his. He rested his cheek against the top of her heard, closing his eyes as he held her.

And for the first time in centuries, he lost track of how long they spent, simply standing in each other's arms.

**Yay, we've finally reached the reunion! **


	17. Chapter 17: 10th Doctor

Neither the Doctor nor Rose noticed when Jack left the room, quietly slipping out so the two could reunite in peace and quiet. He had better things to do anyway. With a grin, his heart feeling full now that he knew his friends finally had a chance at being happy, he made his way back out into the celebrations.

The Doctor gently moved his head into a slightly more comfortable position, his cheek rubbing against her soft hair and stirring up her scent again. He breathed in the smell of strawberries, vanilla, something he couldn't name that had always just been _her_ scent, and felt the tingle of time against his nose. He felt tears well in his eyes at the familiar sensation of breathing her in.

Rassilon, he'd missed her.

He held her close to his chest, feeling her shape fit against his so perfectly and her arms wrap around his torso. She rubbed gentle circles on his back, and though she was only touching his coat, he felt his skin tingle at the contact.

Reluctantly, he leaned away from her, amused to hear a displeased sound from Rose's throat as he did so. He carefully brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, letting his thumb graze her cheekbone as he did so. She leaned into his touch, smiling slightly at the feel on his skin on hers.

"TARDIS?" He suggested hopefully. She smiled at him and nodded, removing her arms from his waist and taking his hand in hers, intertwining their fingers. He felt joy bubble in his stomach. It had been so _long_ since he'd held her hand…that hand that always seemed to fit perfectly inside of his. He used his thumb to rub reassuring circles on the back on her hand, unable to take his eyes off her face as they walked slowly towards his ship.

They ducked and dodged the crowd of celebrating people, which had grown in size as more and more people found each other.

When they finally reached the TARDIS, safely tucked away in a quiet alleyway, he quickly pushed his key in and opened the door, gallantly letting Rose go in first. He watched as she slowly made her way in, looking around the familiar setting with a soft smile on her face. He felt the TARDIS's joy at being reunited with her Wolf, a hum in his mind that was almost excited.

Rose slowly walked up to the console, lightly touching the buttons and the rotor and his ship seemed to keen with delight under the blonde's touch, which made both Rose and the Doctor smile widely, though a second after the Doctor felt a frown tug at his eyebrows.

Since when had Rose been telepathic?

He watched the TARDIS and Rose interact for a few minutes, seeing Rose smile and laugh at the hum of the TARDIS that she could obviously feel in her mind and he felt a pure sort of happiness squeeze at his hearts. His two girls, reunited.

Unable to stay away from her (he'd just gotten her back!) the Doctor surged forward, closing the distance between himself and Rose in only a few steps before taking her into his arms again, holding her tightly, desperately, to his chest, as though he were afraid she might disappear if he blinked.

Which he was.

"_Rose,"_ he breathed against her hair, murmuring her name multiple times before he pulled out of the hug. "How are you here?" He asked her desperately, pulling back from their hug so that he could see her face and gently run his fingertips along her jaw line.

She stared up at him with shining whiskey-coloured eyes, brimming with unshed tears and happiness. Cautiously, giving him plenty of time to pull away, she put her fingertips on his temple.

He closed his eyes, shuddering at her touch and at the feel of her mind brushing against his. He felt a soft _hello_ come his way, and he grinned, his eyes still closed, reveling in the contact she shouldn't have been able to feel.

In an instant, he was bombarded with images.

_Darlig Ulv Stranden. Abandonment. Hope. _

_Nightmares. Fear. Abandonment again. _

_John. Frustration. Anger. Shouting. _

_Nightmares. _

_John. Comfort. Relief. "Please don't leave me."_

"_I'll be here as long as you want, sweetheart."_

_Kisses. Kisses on her nose. _

_Kisses on her forehead. _

_Kisses on her lips. _

_Uniform. Torchwood. Promotion. Sergeant. Salute. _

_Weapons. _

_Hugs._

"_Dress like you." _

_TARDIS key._

_John. Blue Suit. Smile. Kiss. _

_Picnic. Laughing. Happiness. _

"_I had the stars and time at my feet, and I can't think of any time I've been happier than the time we've spent together." _

"_You make me so happy, and you don't even have to do anything." _

_Ring. "Will you marry me?" _

_War. Sontarans. Fear. Alone. _

_Dying. _

_Waking Up. _

_Fear. _

The Doctor stiffened at this last image, his whole body reacting against the thought of not only _Rose dying_, but Rose becoming a fixed point in time. He waited for waves of discomfort, like he got from Jack, and frowned when none came.

_John. Comfort. Fear. Together. _

_Work. John. Dress. John. Cake. Banana frosting. _

"_You haven't aged a day." _

_Fear. John. _

_Harriet Jones. Happy. _

_Dress. Veil. John. Happy._

_John. _

"_For the rest of time, there is no place I'd rather be than at your side, if you'll have me." _

"_There's me." Laughter._

"_When I needed you most – to remind me of who I really am, there you were." _

"_If you'll have me, I'd like to love you for the rest of my human life." _

_Kiss. _

_Family. Happiness. _

_Joy. Work. Fear. John. _

_Happiness. _

_John. _

_Sick. Fear. Hospital. John. Fear. _

_Hospital. Jackie. Alone. _

_Hospital. Pete. Alone. _

_Hospital. Tony. Alone. _

_Hospital. John. Sick. Fear. _

_John. _

_Hospital. John. _

_Alone. _

_Isolation. Fear. Anger. _

_Work. Alone. _

_Bad Wolf. Fear. _

_Telepathy. Fear. _

_Death. Fear. _

_Hopeless. _

_Anger. _

_Pain. _

_Abandonment. _

_Strength. Determination. Fear. _

_Old. Young face. Confused. Lost. _

_Determination. _

_Goodbye._

_Howling._

"_Are you trying to get yourself killed?" _

"_Rose?"_

Rose removed her fingers from his temple, blinking several times as her eyes readjusted to the light after having her eyes closed to better focus on the memories she'd been projecting to him. As she lowered her hand, the Doctor captured it in his, pressing a light kiss to her knuckles before leaning forward and pressing another kiss to her forehead. He heard her sigh under the contact, and felt a small tremble pass through her. He ached for her, wishing he could remove the pain he'd caused by leaving her, wishing that she hadn't had to feel so abandoned, time and time again.

"How long has it been?" he asked her quietly, his lips still against her forehead. He felt her shiver as his voice vibrated through her.

She took a deep breath before answering, wiggling so that she was pressed closer to him and resting her head on his shoulders, nuzzling against the crook of his neck. He pressed his cheek against hers and held her tightly. "288 years since I last saw you," she told him quietly, and he felt her voice vibrate through his chest. He sucked in a breath at her admission. She shouldn't be alive. She absolutely could not be alive. But she was. "217 years since I last saw him." Her voice broke a little on the last word, and the Doctor felt his hearts break for his pink and yellow human.

"I'm sorry," He whispered into her hair, "I'm so, so sorry."

Rose stayed where she was, pressed against her Doctor, feeling the comforting thrum of the double heartbeat against her chest. Her throat tightened as he whispered his apologies. She felt like she needed to cry, she wanted to cry to relieve the pressure that was building behind her eyes and in her throat. But she had had more than two hundred years to cry. Rose Tyler had no more tears to give. Instead, she stayed where she was, her head tucked under his chine and resting on his shoulder. She felt her knees start to betray her and her thoughts began to swim. Suddenly she couldn't recall when was the last time she'd slept. Three weeks ago? A month ago? She didn't remember.

"I'm so tired," she whispered against his chest, allowing herself to be vulnerable because this was the Doctor and her body was failing her anyway.

"When was the last time you slept?" The Doctor asked her quietly, reluctant to move from their position, but he'd noticed her knees buckle and felt her lean on him more heavily.

"Don't know." Rose slurred.

Trying not to jostle her too much, the Doctor carefully swung one arm so that it was tucked under her knees and scooped her up bridal style, worry tugging at his mind when she was far too light. She barely reacted during the pickup, and the Doctor suspected she was half asleep already. He hugged her tightly to his chest as he made his way down the corridor the TARDIS nudged him towards, letting her guide him while he kept his eyes on his precious bundle.

He reached her door quite soon, and the TARDIS helpfully swung it open for him. Sending her a mental thanks, he moved into Rose's bedroom, untouched even after all her years of absence, and carefully placed her on her bed. He removed her worn boots and placed them on the floor noiselessly so he wouldn't wake her.

He felt blood rise to his cheeks as he looked at the rest of her clothes. She'd clearly been wearing the same thing for several days, having had no change of clothes and little time for laundry, and realized that he couldn't leave her in those clothes to sleep.

"Rose, you need to wake up," he whispered, carefully brushing her hair behind her ear.

"Go 'way, John." She muttered sleepily. His hearts tugged at him again.

"Rose, you need to change." The Doctor told her, his voice shaking slightly. Embarrassed, he went to the dresser and pulled out the top item – a well loved jumper that looked suspiciously like the one he'd preferred in his last body – and placed it on her lap, feeling his whole face turn red when he realized that while he'd been turned she'd managed to yank off her trousers. Unabashedly, and probably still half asleep, she tugged off her shirt and replaced it with the jumper he'd handed her before collapsing onto her side again.

His cheeks thoroughly flushed, he turned to leave, only to have his wrist grabbed. He turned to see that Rose's eyes were half open, and she was looking at him with fear, an uncharacteristic vulnerability coming through, and she suddenly looked so young. "Please don't leave." She whispered desperately, panic written across her features.

With a sigh, he loosened her grip and pulled away. He carefully removed his trench coat and folded it neatly, resting it on the chair in front of her vanity. He tugged off his shoes and took off his suit jacket, placing it down with equal care. He unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled the sleeves up. Satisfied, he climbed over Rose, settling against her back so that he was spooning her. "Of course." He breathed reassuringly, and he felt and heard her sigh in relief.

He made himself comfortable, playing absentmindedly with her hair or running his fingers gently up and down her arm. Soon, her breathing evened out and her mental shields slipped, allowing him brief access to what could have been dreams, but he suspected that with her level of fatigue she would not dream, only fall into blissful nothing.

He felt fatigue tug at his own body, and realized that it had been several weeks since he'd slept as well. With the TARDIS humming contently in his mind and Rose Tyler curled up at his side, the Doctor fell into a restful slumber for the first time in centuries.

**We're very close to the end, friends. Thanks to everyone who's still following. Please take time to review! Your reviews really do mean a lot to me and I get excited every time I get one. **

**To jackjenfan: Unfortunately, season 4 was canon. No Jenny :( **


	18. Chapter 18: 10th Doctor part 2

**Okay folks, this very fluffy chapter is the last official chapter of Rose's Story. There'll be an epilogue after this, but we have officially reached the end! Thanks to everyone who stuck with me to the last :)**

When the Doctor woke up, he as alone in Rose Tyler's bed. Her duvet was carefully placed over him, reaching up to his jaw line. He could smell her lingering scent on the fluffy material, and he wondered where she'd gone. She certainly should have slept longer than he would, but evidently she hadn't. He felts his hearts start to speed up. What if she was gone? What if she'd left him? Or what if she'd been pulled back into the parallel world?

With a strangely satisfying crack of his neck, he threw off the comforter, taking in yet another breeze of Rose Tyler's distinctive smell. He stood from the bed, not bothering to make it (he couldn't recall ever seeing Rose's bed made) and he fixed the sleeves of his oxford before slipping back into his suit jacket. He winced at the rumpled look of his trousers – he'd slept in them, after all – but settled with carefully musing his hair and checking his appearance in Rose's vanity before casually sticking his hands in his pockets and quickly leaving the room, desperate to find where she'd gone. His hearts had yet to return to their normal speed and he felt his breathing start to speed up as well.

With a comforting nudge from the TARDIS, he walked to the galley.

Rose was sitting at the table, forearms resting on tabletop, one hand on the other, and her chin on the backs of her hands. She was staring at a mug of tea that was severely lacking in steam, which led the Doctor to believe that it had gone cold while she'd been distracted. Her eyes were glazed over and her jaw set, and the Doctor knew that wherever she was, it certainly wasn't on board the TARDIS. He felt a familiar pang in his hearts at the sight of her. His hearts had, thankfully, slowed back to their normal speed, and his breathing had evened. With a sigh, he untucked one of his hands from his pocket, running it through his hair and then rubbing the back of his neck before walking through the doorway of the galley.

Soundlessly, he sat across from her and put himself in the same position: forearms on the table, hands carefully places one on top of the other, and his chin resting between his knuckles. He watched as her eyes cleared and she finally noticed him, jumping up from her position and tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, a faint pink blooming on her cheeks.

"You miss him," the Doctor said quietly, straightening in his seat and keeping his eyes locked on hers.

She was silent for a few moments, taking him in, the sighed. "Yeah," she whispered. "I miss him."

His hearts broke at her admission, and when he saw her face harden, he recognized himself in the motion – hiding the pain, moving on because there's no other choice, always running forwards and never looking back.

He never wanted that for her.

She looked over him again, and he felt slightly nervous under her gaze. Then, to his surprise, she let out a small _tsk_ of laughter and shook her head, the ghost of a smile on her lips. "It's just…I spent a lifetime with him, you know?" she said wistfully, eyes glazing over slightly again. He said nothing. "And I spent several lifetimes in that universe, wanting him, missing him….and you, of course," she smiled at him then, a genuine smile that was nothing like her megawatt signature grin, but a real smile all the same, and he was relieved to see the realness of the smile. "But I just…you became separate people…and now…. It feels so stupid, but god, I'd forgotten how much you look like him." She finished, the hint of a blush back on her cheeks and a shy smile tugging at the corners of her lips again.

"Weeeeelll," he drawled, seeing her smile grow at his signature elongation of the word and letting that simple expression on her face warm his hearts, "technically, he looked like me." He said with a grin.

She smiled back, saying nothing, but this time the Doctor noticed that it didn't quite reach her eyes, and he felt his shoulders slump slightly at the failed attempt to cheer her up. She took a sip from the mug in front of her, grimacing when the cold tea touched her tongue. She rose from her seat, pouring the contents of her mug down the drain before filling the kettle and placing it on the burner of the stove, which she switched on. The Doctor noticed she put enough for more than one cuppa, and he hoped that maybe she was boiling enough water for him as well.

"Rose," he said quietly, meeting her eyes when she turned to face him. He stood as well, moving to stand close to her, only a few inches between them. Cautiously, he took her hand in his, holding it loosely. "I know that you miss him, and that I'm probably no help," he cracked a lopsided smile, "but what will you do now?" The question felt wrong as it rolled off his tongue, as though it were blasphemous that should would do anything other than stay with him.

She regarded him seriously, taking her bottom lip in her teeth and chewing gently. She looked down at their hands and then back up at him, meeting his eyes. He saw his own nervousness reflected in those warm, molten honey eyes. "Well, you know. Back in the original universe. Same old life."

Her words were an echo of another time, a time that, somehow, even with everything that had happened back then, was simpler than the present. "On your own?" He whispered, repeating the question she'd asked him after his regeneration. He stepped closer to her, so close their noses were almost touching, and he felt her relax slightly at his proximity, though her eyes remained nervous and he heard her heart speed up slightly in her chest.

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a few seconds as she breathed, before she opened them again and hazel locked with brown. "Why? Don't you wanna come?" She whispered back, leaning forward so that the tip of her nose was just barely touched the tip of his. He closed his eyes, breathing in her scent, reveling in her closeness.

He let go of one of her hands to bring his hand up to her face, carefully tracing her jaw with his fingers before cupping it more fully. A shiver went through her body and she leaned into his touch. "Well, yeah," he replied with a small smile. "I just thought…because of him…" he didn't finish his sentence, knowing that she knew full well what he meant.

Rose sucked in a quick breath; her eyes squeezing shut for a moment as she let out a shuddering exhale. She opened her eyes again, taking him in, before she carefully leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.

It was a light kiss, nothing like the frenzied, demanding snog that Cassandra had given him while using Rose's body, nor like the desperate, loving kiss that Rose and the Metacrisis had shared on the beach at Bad Wolf Bay. This kiss was hesitant, her lips lightly touching his and giving him a small taste of Rose Tyler.

To Rose's pleasure (and relief), kissing the Doctor did not feel like kissing John. The Doctor felt different against her lips, and his taste was different from John's.

The kettle started to hiss, catching them both off guard. They jumped, quickly disentangling themselves. Rose reached over to turn off the burner and picked up the kettle with a slightly shaky hand, pouring it into the same mug she'd used before grabbing a tea pouch and putting in the scalding water, letting it soak for a few seconds before adding some milk. "Tea?" She asked him.

"Ta," he replied from his seat, which he'd sat in again. He watched her as she reached for another mug and carefully poured the water in, putting in the sugar first and allowing it to dissolve before she added the tea bag, which made him grin because after all their years apart she still knew how fussy he was about his tea. She grabbed both mugs and put his down in front of him before sitting back down in her original seat as well, her own mug between her hands.

He took a sip of his tea and promptly choked, coughing as the boiling hot water scalded his mouth and throat. He caught a knowing glint in her eye, amusement rolling off her in waves, and he felt the tips of his ears start to turn red. "Did he…?" The Doctor started to ask, looking pointedly at his tea.

"Oh, every time." Rose replied with a smirk, which she hid behind her own mug as she took a sip of her not-quite-as-hot tea, which had been cooled slightly by the milk. The Doctor pouted slightly, frowning into his tea as though to inquire why it had burned him. Rose felt a wave of nostalgia come over her as she smiled at the man who'd shared a face with her husband.

The Doctor's head snapped up immediately, meeting her gaze squarely, his expressive eyebrows pulled down into a frown. She raised her own eyebrows, wondering what the problem was, before she sheepishly realized that since she'd been in the TARDIS, she hadn't had her mental shields up, and the Doctor was probably wondering how and when she'd become telepathic.

There were quite a few questions she expected him to have, actually, even with her showing him what had happened in the parallel universe. They sat in silence, each drinking their own tea, for several minutes, simply enjoying each other's presence while lost in their own thoughts. Rose took another sip of her tea, wondering, shields still down, why he hadn't asked her any of the questions that were obviously at the forefront of his mind.

"I didn't want to overwhelm you," he replied, still frowning as he observed her. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "I thought you might want to settle in before…" he trailed off, giving her a sheepish look.

"Before you poked and prodded at me," she finished for with a dramatic sigh, though the Doctor could see amusement on her face. He said nothing, but she took the final gulp of her tea and stood, extending her hand. The Doctor finished off his tea as well and rose from his seat, taking her hand unquestioningly and giving it a quick squeeze. She smiled at him. "To the sick bay, then?"

"To the sick bay," he repeated with a smile, letting her lead the way.

Rose said nothing as the Doctor proceeded to do his poking, prodding, and scanning, sitting still on the medical bed, lost in her own thoughts. She'd done as many tests on herself as she could while in the parallel world, using the resources at Torchwood for the best chance at getting an answer. When she'd seen the strange energy in her mind, sparking at the synapses and glowing gold, she'd immediately associated the energy with the Time Vortex and the Bad Wolf. But she knew the Doctor, and she knew full well that he would do his own tests, regardless of what she said.

"I don't know how you aren't burning," the Doctor whispered, clutching her hand desperately as he looked at the screen. It had come to quite a shock to him that she wasn't dying, not even close, due to the vortex energy that remained in her system.

"Bad Wolf," she replied easily, though she didn't miss the way the Doctor's body tensed up at her call-card. "I protected myself from the energy, but it was still there. I'm constantly being exposed to it." She said with a shrug.

"You knew?" The Doctor gasped, pulling off his specs and looking at her with wide eyes and a frown.

"'Course," she replied, raising a single eyebrow. "You didn't think I wouldn't run my own tests?"

"How could you not tell me?" The Doctor demanded, cupping her face and leaning in to press their foreheads together. Through his shields, Rose could still feel his nervousness spilling through, and his hearts were beating erratically in his chest.

With a sigh, she wrapped her fingers around one of his wrists, closing her eyes. "I'm sorry."

They stayed like that until the Doctor managed to get his hearts under control, which was only a few minutes. He took comfort in the fact that she was _there_, she was alive, and she was back with him, where she should be. Where she would be for a long time, if his test results were right. He couldn't see her dying in the near future.

He felt a nudge of apology telepathically make its way to his mind, and once again he was struck with the reality of Rose being telepathic. If she was exposed to the vortex, he reasoned, it made sense that over time she would gain some telepathic abilities, but it still felt strange to him. Curiously, he lowered his shields, allowing more contact between the two of them, and he felt Rose gasp with the sudden openness of his mind. He moaned slightly as he presence started to fill it, tentatively, as though she wasn't sure she would be welcome. Her shimmering presence filled every nook and cranny of his lonely mind and _oh_, that felt good.

He mentally surged forward himself, allowing himself to nudge Rose's mind with his own telepathic abilities. She welcomed him fully, and _oh_, it felt really, reeaaalllly good in her mind. Warm, welcoming, and sweet, just as he'd always seen his Rose. He explored her mind, carefully staying away from the shut door. He knew what he would find there – her treasured memories with the Metacrisis.

_John_, she corrected his thoughts with a harsh one of her own. _His name was John, not the Metacrisis. _He let apology seep through his thoughts, hearing her sigh, all harshness gone from her mind in an instant.

Suddenly craving physical contact, the Doctor tentatively climbed on the medical bed on which Rose was still siting, gathering her in his arms and laying back gently against the backrest of the seat. She sighed again and leaned against him fully. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, never once severing the mental connection.

_How long are you going to stay with me?_ She thought to him, and he felt amusement at her question, even though it had been a serious one, because that was his line.

He nestled her against him more tightly, his cheek on her hair and their arms wrapped around each other. _Forever_, he promised her gently and surely, knowing full well that _forever_ no longer meant only a human's lifetime – it meant _forever_.

She leaned forward again, less tentative this time, and pressed her lips to his again. A small rumble in his throat urged her on, and he thought he felt her smile into the kiss. The lightness of the last kiss was gone in an instead. The Doctor pleadingly ran his tongue along Rose's bottom lip, and she immediately opened for him, allowing him to really taste her. Her tongue gently pressed against his, then ran along the roof of his mouth, and _oh_, it felt so right to be kissing Rose Tyler. He felt her deep pleasure reverberate in her mind, resonating so loudly that her pleasure became his and when she moaned into his mouth, he thought he saw stars behind his eyes.

He rolled himself so that he was on top of her, pressing against her and taking the kiss deeper. Supernovas exploded in his mind when she experimentally grinded against him, and he growled into the kiss, pressing himself against her. Using a single free hand, his let his finger graze the small bit of accessible skin between her shirt and her trousers, feeling her gasp and buck against him. He tore his lips from hers and lightly kissed along her jaw, making his way down her neck, alternating between kissing, biting, and sucking to give her as much pleasure as he could.

"Doctor," She gasped, and he took pleasure in her breathlessness. He sent a telepathic nudge of curiosity up to her. "Maybe," she interrupted herself with a moan when he found a particular spot on her collarbone, which he noted and filed away for later, "maybe we should do this somewhere other than the sick bay?" she suggested breathlessly.

He pulled away from her immediately, grinning when she groaned at the loss of contact. "Quite right, Rose." He acknowledged. He moved off the sick bed and extended his hand. She sat up, straightening her hair slightly, and took his hand before jumping off the seat, offering him a wide, tongue-touched grin and he suddenly felt the need to capture that mischievous tongue with his mouth.

She wrapped her arms around his and wound their fingers together. "Lead the way,"


	19. Chapter 19: Epilogue (11th Doctor)

**This is it, folks! The very last chapter of Rose's Story! Thanks to everyone who stuck around until the end and dealt with my erratic updating! I hope you all enjoyed this story and will continue to read it (I still read old favourites from time to time). Don't forget to check out my profile and other stories - I'd love to hear your thoughts on all of them. If you would like to stay up to date with this story, when I have free time I will probably go through and update past chapters, fixing typos and other errors. **

"Doctor!" Rose called as she entered the console room, looking around for her bond-mate.

"Yes?" The Doctor answered. Rose spun on the spot to try and see him, frowning when she didn't. "Look up," he called to her, and she did. He was half standing, half hanging from one of the corals, using his hand to prop himself against the walls of the TARDIS as he…did something…with the sonic screwdriver.

"What are you doing?" She asked curiously, moving to stand under him.

"Repairs," He replied, not looking at her. She felt a strong wave of negativity in her mind from the TARDIS, and a grin grew on her face. "Oh, stop it, I am so." The Doctor snapped, presumably in response to the ship's disagreement.

"Well, anyway," Rose jumped in before the two could get into a larger argument. "We need to stop on earth, grab some food. The galley's starting to run really low and there's only so much the TARDIS can do if we don't actually have any food on board."

"You don't want to go to Hyspera? I've been meaning to stop by there again – I haven't been since my eighth body! They have this fruit that tastes like a mix of pineapple and strawberries, well, sort of…that's the best comparison I can think of anyway…and it has this texture, sort of like…cotton candy? Yeah. It melts in your mouth, Rose! And –"

"Doctor, we're out of bananas." Rose interrupted impatiently, her hand reaching out to catch the sonic when the Doctor dropped it in surprise.

When she looked up, eyebrows raised, he was looking down at her with shock written across his face. "We're out…?"

"Of bananas, yes." Rose repeated.

He jumped down from the coral and stood face to face with her, shock still written across his face. "Did you check –"

"The blue suit's pockets? Yes."

"What about –"

"Your secret stash?" Rose raised an eyebrow. "Yes."

The Doctor, still looking appalled, ran to the console, hitting buttons and flipping levers quickly. The two time travelers braced themselves against the console when the TARDIS shook violently. When the shaking stopped, checked her pockets to made sure she had her wallet and then went to the TARDIS doors. She poked her head out, and, seemingly surprised at what she saw, turned around to look at the Doctor in surprise. "This is a market."

He raised his eyebrows at her, tucking his hands in his pockets and ambling over to join her at the door. "Yes."

She shrugged and existed the TARDIS. "Was half expecting us to end up at a banana grove, or something."

"Well, Rose, you humans need so many different – hey!" He whined when she mused his hair, looking at her with an annoyed but short-lived glare, fixing his hair before offering his hand, which she took with a smile.

"The domestic approach, then?" Rose's tongue poked out from between her teeth as they made their way into the market.

The Doctor grinned crookedly. "The domestic approach."

* * *

"Rose!"

Rose groaned and buried her head in the comfortable blankets the TARDIS provided her with.

"_Roooose!"_

Rose put her pillow over her head in an attempt to block the sound.

"_Rooooooose!"_

Frustrated, she threw off the blankets and pushed hair from her face. "What!" The Doctor was not in their bedroom, and not in the ensuite, and with a grumble, Rose rolled off the bed and went in search of the Doctor. "Where are you?" She asked loudly, her eyes bleary as she poked her head in different rooms to try and find the Time Lord.

"I can hear you, you're close!" He shouted back at her.

When she finally found the Doctor, she blinked several times at the sight in front of her.

"Don't laugh," he said threateningly. She pressed her lips together to keep the smile from her face.

The Doctor was standing next to a relaxed looking white horse, who was idly chewing on a brown tie.

That was still around the Doctor's neck.

At his despaired look, Rose lost control and burst out laughing, leaning heavily on the wall to help her stay on her feet as she clutched her stomach and tears came to her eyes. When she was finally able to meet his gaze, he glared at her, annoyed, but shot a desperate look to the horse, who kept chewing contently.

"Don't you speak horse?" Rose asked through her laughter. "Ask him to let go."

"He won't listen." The Doctor whined.

"Then take your tie off!" She laughed.

"Rose, this is my favourite tie!"

* * *

"You're going to be late." Rose told him, an annoyed look on her face as the new new new Doctor jumped and flailed around the console room. She felt a pang in her stomach as she looked at the new man, dressed in her previous Doctor's torn suit and tie. "I can't believe you ruined the suit." She sighed, shaking her head.

"Shush, Rose Tyler, I'm driving!" He shouted, dancing awkwardly around the console room. Smoke was still swirling around the TARDIS, and Rose found herself coughing heavily. She felt the strained apology of the ship in her mind, but knew that she was only trying to reconstruct herself while the blasted alien ran around the console.

"No, you're…I don't know what you're doing," Rose replied. "For God's sake, Doctor, why couldn't you have regenerated in the Zero room? That's what it's _for!_"

"I wasn't gunna make it that far!" He defended himself, his voice rising in pitch.

Rose shook her head as she tried to help pilot the TARDIS, the ship doing her best to stabilize but struggling. "Destroyed the TARDIS, shredded the suit…" She muttered.

"Oh, enough about the suit already!" The Doctor replied scathingly.

"Oi! I _liked_ that suit!" Rose retorted.

* * *

"A bowtie, really, Doctor?" Rose said, arms crossed as she leaned on the console in the new new new TARDIS.

"Bowties are cool," The Doctor said, adjusting the aforementioned item around his neck and looking at her seriously. "What do you think?" He extended his arms towards her and flashed her a cocky smile.

She grinned. "Give us a twirl, then, Doctor." She joked, laughing when he did, spinning easily on the ball of his feet.

She skipped towards him and flicked floppy, sandy coloured hair from his eyes. Beneath his cocky smile and energetic excitement, Rose could feel a genuine concern radiating from the new regenerated Doctor. She smoothed his oxford over his shoulders and smiled at him. "I'll miss the hair," she said with a sigh, but smiled widely at him. She felt genuine sorrow at the loss of the suited Doctor, just as she still did for the leather Doctor, but she knew, without a doubt, that the man before her was the Doctor, and no matter what face he wore, she loved the Doctor.

She knew the moment the Doctor felt those thoughts, because he swept her up in his arms and hugged her tightly.

Rose and promised him forever.

And she kept her promises.

**Fin. **

**Thanks for sticking around, folks! Don't forget to review! If you're looking for other stories to read, there are a lot of great stories in the "favourite stories" section of my profile, as well as some very talented authors! **


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